Descripción

Un clásico riojano que añada tras añada se va modernizando hacia un perfil más entero y fresco. Ahora cuenta con más potencia frutal y una madera perfectamente integrada, pero a los más pacientes les recompensará con creces la espera gracias a su gran potencial de envejecimiento. Un tinto de campanillas simplemente extraordinario. 

Ficha técnica

La bodega
Tipo
Tinto Reserva
Añada
2018
Grado
14.0% vol.
Variedad
Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, Graciano.
Otros formatos disponibles:
Origen
Rioja

Cata

Vista
De capa alta y color rojo picota.
Nariz
Se muestra complejo con aromas a frutas negras, toques que recuerdan al cedro, monte bajo seguido de notas especiados como la pimienta.
Boca
Entrada elegante y armoniosa presentando toques de frutas rojas maduras y especias. Con una estupenda y bien integrada acidez que hace que sea largo. Estamos ante un reserva potente y con un gran potencial de envejecimiento.
Temperatura de servicio
Se recomienda servir a 16 ºC.
Consumo
Hasta 2030, aproximadamente, si se conserva en óptimas condiciones.
Maridaje
Este vino combina bien con carnes rojas, cordero y pescados de roca a la brasa.

Viñedo y elaboración

Descripción
Viñedo ubicado en los montes Obarenes y la sierra de Cantabria.
Superficie
200 hectáreas.
Suelo
Terrazas del terciario arcillo-calcáreas.
Clima
Conjunción de los climas mediterráneo, atlántico y continental.
Cosecha
Vendimia manual.
Vinificación
Fermentación con levadura indígena en depósitos de roble.
Envejecimiento
Crianza de 26 meses en barricas de roble francés fabricadas en la propia tonelería de la bodega.
Embotellado
Previo al embotellado se realiza una clarificación con clara de huevo fresco. Una vez en botella sufrirá un proceso de afinado durante al menos 18 meses en la bodega.

Opinión de los críticos

The Wine Advocate:

2018 was a cooler vintage, with a fairly long maturation, which made the wines somewhat fresher and less alcoholic, as showcased by the 2018 Selección Especial, a classical blend of the four red varieties from Rioja, Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano with contained ripeness (14.05% alcohol) and good freshness. It fermented in oak casks with indigenous yeasts and matured in French oak barrels, 40% of them new, for 26 months. They were not very happy with the vintage and had to sort and discard, but as they didn't produce Prado Enea, Torre Muga or Haro, those grapes went into this wine. They are reluctant about 2018, but I think it was a vintage capable of the best and the worst, and this 2018 is floral, expressive and elegant. It's medium to full- bodied, with very fine, chalky tannins, combining power and elegance. Amazing! 187,200 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2021.

James Suckling:

Fresh and dried cherries, oyster shells, spice box and dried herbs on the nose. Flint stone, too. Structured, mineral and very fresh with tight and fine-grained tannins and a medium body. Vibrant and fragrant. Lightly austere at the end. Smaller production and greater selection this year - only Rioja Reserva and Seleccion Especial made. Try from 2024.

Jeb Dunnuck:

The 2018 Muga Selección Especial is 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and the rest Graciano y Mazuelo. It shows the fresher style of the vintage yet has good richness in its cassis and black raspberry fruit profile as well as notes of tobacco leaf, violets, and spicy oak. Straight-up gorgeous on the palate, it shines for its purity, has ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. I'm a fan.

Jeb Dunnuck:

Always a terrific wine, the 2016 Selección Especial is based on 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and the rest Graciano and Mazuelo. Almost Rhône-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.

Tim Atkin:

Always a comparative bargain in the Muga range, this Selección Especial benefited from the fact that Torre Muga, Prado Enea and Aro were not produced in 2018. Combining Tempranillo with 15% Garnacha and 5% each of Mazuelo and Graciano, most of it from the area around Haro, this is sweet, succulent, refreshing and comparatively forward, with scented French oak and layers of spicy dark berry fruit. 2024-35