2012 Seleccion Especial Reserva

Aged in French oak for three years. Very dark crimson for rioja. Savoury, complete, layered and satisfying. Fills every hole on the palate and clearly has a great future but is round enough to enjoy now. Impressive. (JR)

Aged one year in new French oak then moved to vat, the 2012 Muga Reserva Selección Especial (70% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha, 10% Graciano and the balance Mazuelo) comes from a very hot, dry, challenging year. Currants, chocolate, espresso, smoked earth, and singed leather notes all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, concentrated, nicely balanced red that has sweet tannin, moderate acidity, and a big finish. It's a rich, voluptuous effort that tons to love and is well worth checking out.

I had the chance to taste two vintages next to each other of the "special selection" red, the younger of which was the 2012 Selección Especial. It's from a dry and warm year where the canopy management and the absence of cover crop resulted in a fresher wine than anticipated. This is always a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo, usually from older, poorer terraces and older vines, fermented in oak vats and aged in new barriques and then racked to neutral, used barrels. There was a small crop but they harvested late (they tend to have their vineyards in cooler zones), and they saw rains at the end of the harvest, so they didn't produce Torre Muga or Prado Enea, and they even produced less of this. It has perfect ripeness, aromas of spices and noble woods. It has a polished, sleek palate with fine tannins and good freshness. This is very good within the context. 120,000 bottles produced.