Muga, Seleccion Especial, Rioja

2006 was not the best vintage in Rioja, but I’ve had some great ones. This is developed, Stewed black fruits, some oxidative notes and loads of oak with cedary spice. Time to drink up. 89 T says: 93 Second night:This has cleaned up dramatically and the oxidation/sho polish seams to have blown off. 91

2006 vintage

Well made, in a modern style. Needs a couple of hours of air to open up. Sleek dark fruit with plenty of oak. Integrates well with air. Drinking well now, but may improve over the next few years.

2011 vintage

Fin alder, syren er færdig udviklet. Flot næse, jasmin og viol.

2012 vintage

A delicious confection of leather, tobacco and cherry seasoned with spices and pepper underpinned with pleasing soft ruffled tannins. On the mid-palate it developed a rich creaminess balanced out with acidity and freshness. Refined and elegant it had a lingering finish. Very impressive. CHP 92 pts

2011 vintage

Rich & smooth. Had some pronounced Malolactic milkiness from the mid to back palate. Good, fairly simple Rioja. I think I like my Rioja with a bit more balsamic. If I had another, I'd leave it be for a good ten or more years.

2012 vintage

Last bottle from the case - same as the previous one. Corked.

2011 vintage

Oxidated

2011 vintage

Perhaps this bottle was off; I expected more from a Muja Seleccion Especial. This was fairly one dimensional. Beautiful nose spices and violets. Notes of tart cherries.

2011 vintage

Made in a more modern style, nonetheless, there is still a lot to like about this bottle. Dark and red cherry fruit burst onto the scene before the mostly integrated oak emerges mid-palette. Finish is creamy with tannin and the structure for further aging evident. I will hold my other bottle until 2027-2029.

2011 vintage

Last bottle of this vintage- we now move back to the 2009. As I stated before this has turned out to be a very good year for this wine. It is very Rioja and a lovely accompaniment to roast pork. Decanted for 30 minutes which allowed the smoky barbecue meat flavour to emerge after dinner. No need to hurry this one.

2012 vintage

Cork fell apart on opening. So did the wine. Corked

2011 vintage

Had this for Christmas dinner with Prime Rib. Decent pairing given the age of the wine mellowing over time into a dark, leathery character but I would say if you like a lot fruit it’s past its prime. I tend to like more secondary characteristics but this one had faded a bit too much. Last one of 2 which I bought directly at the winery in Haro, Spain.

2011 vintage

Quite delicious. Really good value Reserva that’s rich and packed full of fruit. Black cherry, cola, leather, spice on the nose. Intense blackberry, and plum, leather and vanilla on the palate. Smooth with high acidity, medium tannins, long finish. Still young and primary so loads of time left. Needs a lot of air (4+ hours) to soften an initially astringent finish.

2011 vintage

Still young and powerful! Will wait another year or 2 before drinking another one

2011 vintage

Drinking very well.

2011 vintage

Big juicy powerful

2012 vintage

Another good bottle at optimal maturity....Once again, the cork split when opening but the wine was fine...

2011 vintage

Great wine for the price, probably drinking at peak, This is the fourth bottle in a row of this wine & vintage where the cork broke while being opened. Obviously, the wine is not damaged in any way.

2011 vintage

This wine is drinking very well. As a matter of information, the last three bottles have had corks which broke while being opened.

2011 vintage

This bottle took a while to open up.

2011 vintage

Drinking well at the present time...

2011 vintage

See prior note. Still so much fruit, balanced acidity/tannins and alcohol w/ a medium body. Complexity of fruit, perfume, cedar, blackcurrant and that lingering finish. Wish I had more. A beautiful wine, still could go another 7 or so years.

2011 vintage

One hour decant. Inky black cherry color. Blackberries, black cherry, oak and subtle spices. Smooth, rich and balanced with perfect tannic grip. Long finish. Delightful Tempranillo.

2012 vintage

Bra frukt och koncentration men lite för mycket alkohol i eftersmaken men detta blev bättre dagen efter, bra längd och härlig doft och smak, kan nog utvecklas lite till och balansera upp alkoholen lite

2011 vintage

How traditional do you want? because this was pure Rioja and drank wonderfully with Spanish milk fed lamb. Great stuff

2012 vintage

Is time ! Drink now! Fds SP Mestiço

2011 vintage

Good but will get better. Leave

2011 vintage

This magnum is still drinking fine and actually improved since last tasting. We enjoyed with beef. Great Rioja.

2006 vintage

This blend (70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 7% Mazuelo, 3% Graciano) is absolutely gorgeous right now. We decanted it for 2 hours and had it with paella. The pairing is perfect. The wine has great complexity of flavor and is not, unlike many wines of Rioja, oaky. We LOVED drinking this wine. Yum.

2011 vintage

Decanted for an hour. Mmm, delicious plush aromas of dark berries and cedar wood, with a hint of blood and smoke. The palate is big and fruity, inky dark fruit, with hints of licorice, and strong tannins. Definitely young, but eminently drinkable!

2012 vintage

A lovely Rioja that was a big hit.

2011 vintage

The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like fig, coffee and cedar. It tastes like blackberry, black currant (cassis) and espresso. The body is medium. The wine has polished texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has medium acidity. Drank a day after the 2016 which was much more powerful and intense.

2011 vintage

Smooth Rioja with a tad too much oak: plum, blackberry, vanilla, fig, black currant, clove, full body, velvety finish. Perhaps a few more years in the cellar will soften the oak.

2011 vintage

Discreet dusty, earthy and balsamic notes. Round and well-balanced with flavours of soft fruit, balsamic notes, salty spices, caramel popcorn with fine integrated tannins. Long finish with a hint of sweet cedar. Delicious! Drink now to 2024.

2012 vintage

Some oak here for sure showing smoke, coconut and some roasted notes from the toasting I guess, but the fruit is quite beautiful and stands up to it especially after some air. There is some really nice cassis here, also some bramble maybe, as well as fresh herbs, also lots of orange zests on the nose, which is really nicely perfumed; high acidity provides freshness on the medium bodied, elegant palate. Tannins are ultra fine. Excellent to drink now but …

2011 vintage

Decanted 5 hours and was absolutely necessary. A fabulous all-round Rioja. Still on the young side. Enjoyed with some Jamón Serrano and manchego! Lovely! This will go on for a while… Great QPR at $45 a bottle.

2012 vintage

Rounded, ripe fruits, good tannins, needed time to open up. Very much a rioja, lots of oak, ripe fruits, with a medium body.

2012 vintage

Full disclosure - I've never had any of Muga's wines that I have not liked. This is no exception. Still dark black cherry colour, long legs, and a rich mocha/ chocolate nose. Lovely rich palate of dark fruits, wood and spice. Noticeable but silky tannin. Best with food at the moment. If you can decant. Should keep for 10 years if you can resist it.

2012 vintage

Perfect ripeness. Open up with earthy aromas, black fruits, liquorice, plums, mildly floral, spices and coffee with hint of white pepper. It has a polished, sleek palate with fine tannins and good freshness.

2012 vintage

Drank last evening, so tasting note from memory. Medium garnet. Medium bodied, tannins well integrated. Drinking well, probably 2-3 years of life. I doubt that it will improve.

2006 vintage

Smoothed out compared to my last tasting with no hint of the bitterness noted in my previous note. This one has definitely improved with time, though I'm not sure it has a whole lot left in it. Oxidation is becoming noticable.

2006 vintage

..

2012 vintage

this has old school rioja charm. but it's young and even the (dark) colour in the glass suggests this has time and evolution ahead of it. nose is lively and fragrant with predominantly bright red fruits, raspberry, cranberry. there are some floral and leafy notes, tobacco, vanilla. palate is lively as well, with bright acidity, sour cherry, with time and air, it puts on weight and dark berries emerge, some mineral notes as well. tannin present through the finish. this …

2012 vintage

Not the greatest vintage for Rioja but this has a beneficial impact upon this wine as no Torre Muga nor Prado Enea was made in 2012, so all the best bunches went into this. The result is a dark, intense SE with a long future ahead. At this moment in time perhaps going through a broody stage but you can sense the potential. Keep for five years at least.

2012 vintage

Farven er dyb mørkerød Duften har toner af, mørkerøde/sorte brombær og kirsebær, lidt blåbær, violer, røde tørret blomster, modet læder, lidt hængt kød, flotte milde brændte træ toner med et touch af vanilje, lille sød tobaks tone. Smagen er smooth af duften, modne mørkerøde/sorte kirsebær, et frisk touch af blåbær, røde brombær. Tone af moden læder, blod/kød, ristet træ, en toner af noget grønt bitterhed. En god kølig lille frugtsødme kommer frem i smagen. Frugten virker moden med også med …

2006 vintage

This bottle was a gift from a colleague and I had saved it for a couple of years before temptation got the better of me! I decanted 90 minutes before pouring (tasting first where it had a somewhat closed flavour but a vibrant fruity Rioja nose). It had opened up beautifully with chocolate cherry flavours on a savoury base. Really enjoyed this wine and only sorry I only had the one bottle!

2012 vintage

Great wine in its style, not overwhelmed by the oak, fruity and still young however giving huge pleasure and I would not wait longer as it may lose its freshness and vigour.

2006 vintage

Very nice

2012 vintage

Wines that F**k to kick off the new year (Bob's, Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL) : Nose: The nose is seamless and favoring the sour side with raspberries, sour red cherries, cranberries, pencil lead, tobacco, violets, leather, and some earth tones. There is excellent depth while also showing off a restrained power. Taste: The feel is Medium/full bodied with crisp, medium+ acidity and chewy, medium+ tannins. The structure is still youthful, but it isn't in the forefront. The feel is poised …

2012 vintage

Double decanted on Christmas Eve to serve with Alton Brown's meat loaf recipe. Initial nose of plums, spice, touch of wood that follows through into the flavors, mid-range and finish. Excellent Rioja that needs some time to better integrate the alcohol in the finish and complex flavors. It will be interesting to see how this evolves. I have thoroughly enjoyed the various bottlings of the Muga Seleccion Exceptional, including the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014. One of the better values in …

2012 vintage

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