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2016 Muga Rioja Reserva

SelecciÃ³n Especial

95 JS / 94+ WA / 94 VM / 94 JD

$38.89/750ml - Buy Now

(In Stock)

Real Rioja. One of the top best-value, high-quality reds in Spain

- James Suckling

This is among the best vintages of SelecciÃ³n Especial.

- Luiz Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate

Founded by Isaac Muga in 1932, the Muga operation is currently being run by his three sons with Jorge Muga at the helm of the wine-making team. The 2016 vintage was excellent for this traditional Rioja house.

2016 Muga Rioja Reserva Seleccion Especial

95 JS / 94+ WA / 94 VM / 94 JD

$38.89/750ml (In Stock) Buy Now

This is really tight and powerful with gorgeous tannins and solid fruit. Full body. Tight and composed. Wet earth, smoked meat and hints of black truffles. Very long and powerful. Wonderful length. Real Rioja. One of the top best-value, high-quality reds in Spain. Drink or hold.-James Suckling

The current vintage of the red that is their first option to have with food is the 2016 SelecciÃ³n Especial, whose grapes are selected from terraced vineyards in the Montes Obarenes and the Sierra Cantabria, from vines averaging 35 years of age. It fermented in oak vats and matured in French oak barrels for 26 months, and it's kept in bottle for at least 18 months before it's sold. This is serious and has freshness and some restraint in the palate; it's much more expressive, floral and aromatic and with more-integrated oak than the wines from five+ years ago. It's a more elegant vintage than the 2015 and every bit as good, or a tad better. Winemaker Isaac Muga considers 2016 a very good harvest. It was bottled in April 2019. This is among the best vintages of SelecciÃ³n Especial. 288,000 bottles produced. â€“Luiz Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate

Dark ruby. Vibrant, smoke- and spice-accented cherry and cassis aromas show very good clarity and a hint of candied rose. Sappy, penetrating and focused on the palate, offering finely etched and appealingly sweet dark berry, cherry cola and spicecake flavors along with a subtle chewing tobacco nuance. Closes impressively long and lively, with resonating florality and chewy, youthfully gripping tannins adding final grip. Raised in new and used French oak barrels.-- Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media

Always a terrific wine, the 2016 SelecciÃ³n Especial is based on 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and the rest Graciano and Mazuelo. Almost RhÃ´ne-like with its spicy, meaty, gamey style, this beauty offers lots of red and black currants, cedary spice, incense, and tobacco aromas and flavors. It's medium to full-bodied, has terrific balance, silky tannins, and is just a class act. The 2015 is a richer, more opulent wine, while the 2016 shows a touch more freshness and elegance. Both are beautiful vintages worth buying, cellaring, and drinking.--Jeb Dunnuck

Also Available:

2016 Muga Torre Muga

99 JD / 98 JS / 96 WA / 96 VM / 95 WS

$98.89/bottle (In Stock) Buy Now

Even better than the magical 2015, the 2016 Torre Muga offers a thrilling bouquet of cassis and assorted pure dark fruits, lead pencil, graphite, white flowers, and spice-laced aromas and flavors. While this cuvÃ©e is always thought of as the most modern in the lineup, it's far from it and has integrated oak, flawless balance, sweet tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It's beautifully done and just a thrilling bottle of Rioja that's going to evolve for 20-30 years or more. Jeb Dunnuck

The purity of fruit to this is very, very intriguing with blackberries, graphite, and charcoal. Full-bodied. It radiates intense fruit with perfectly polished tannins. Subtle asphalt and blue fruit. Very long and beautiful. Racy. Tempranillo with graciano and mazuelo. Needs two to four years of bottle age. Try after 2021. James Suckling

I tasted a super young 2016 Torre Muga that had only been in bottle for some four months. But even so, the year seems to be approachable and open. Even if the wine has concentration and power, it has great balance and freshness. And it's drinkable now, even if it's going to get polished with some more time in bottle, where it should have a long life. This was the most modern of the wines in the portfolio, but I think the modern and traditional styles have been converging over the years, and nowadays there is not a huge difference between them. And for its age, it feels quite round, and it doesn't have edges or any harsh tannins; the oak is present but it's neatly integrated in the wine. It has to be one of the finest vintages for Torre Muga. 36,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in early 2019. Luis Gutirrez â€“ The Wine Advocate

Brilliant violet. Intense, spice-tinged cherry, boysenberry and vanilla scents display outstanding clarity and pick up smoky mineral and floral accents with air. Juicy and seamless in texture, showing excellent depth as well as energy to the red and blue fruit liqueur, spicecake and floral pastille flavors, which demonstrate impressive definition and back-end lift. Finishes extremely long and precise, with an echo of sweet dark berries and deftly woven tannins that add gentle grip-- Josh Raynolds - Vinous Media

This bold red is assertive, yet holds power in reserve. A thick texture, supported by muscular tannins, supports ripe flavors of currant, fig, cocoa, loamy earth and tar. Concentrated, but remains harmonious. Impressive, in the modern style. Best from 2022 through 2036. 3,000 cases made, 400 cases imported. â€” TM â€“ Wine Spectator