This 95-Point Rioja Is AWESOME!
We've got a big one for you today! Sexy, overt and complex, it is the kind of wine that renowned wine writer Robert Parker would have referred to as hedonistic. Quite honestly, we cannot think of a better word.
Dripping with black raspberry, blue plums and fig confiture fruits supported by cocoa, sweet wood, oak spice and black pepper, the 2020 Muga "Selección Especial" Rioja stains the walls of the glass with each swirl.
This is a Rioja for Bordeaux and Cabernet fans, and we love it. Thanks to a stroke of Vin Chicago luck, we are able to bring it to you today for a bonkers price that beats every single one of the 146 online listings.
Read on for the 95- and 94-Point reviews, then slam that Big Yellow Button to enjoy this I-can't-believe-it's-under-
2020 Muga "Selección Especial"
Rioja, Spain
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The dark, powerful, beautiful Rioja will pair BEAUTIFULLY with grilled ribeyes, skirt steak and so much more. Or, stash a few bottles away to serve to your friends 5 to 10 years down the road and blow their minds. There is so much to love here.
“The 2020 Muga Selección Especial checks in as 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and the rest Graciano and Mazuelo that's aged six months in new French barrique, followed by two full years in older French and American (70/30) oak barriques. Rocking levels of cassis and black raspberry-like fruit as well as graphite, spicy wood, violets, and lead pencil notes all shine on the nose, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a round, layered mouthfeel, and silky tannins. It's already hard to resist.”
- 95 Points, Jeb Dunnuck (7/3/2024)
“Their most gastronomical red is the 2020 Selección Especial, a blend of the four traditional varieties from Rioja—Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano—fermented in oak vats. Half of the destemmed grapes were put through an optical sorting machine. The wine matured in French oak barrels, 40% of them new, for 26 months and was racked every eight to nine months. 2020 was a warm year, and the wine comes in at 14.5% alcohol, with a pH of 3.56 and 5.75 grams of acidity. Manu Muga likes 2020 very much. This is also a textbook example of this wine, a little more developed and tertiary, with generous spice and toast and a palate with more grip. Drink Date: 2026 - 2036.”
- 94 Points, Wine Advocate (2/27/2025)
Jeb quotes $55. At nearly 30% less, our price beats all 146 online listings. It is rare, and quite thrilling, to be able to bring you a wine this serious and this overtly delicious for under forty bucks!
Vin Chicago Price: 38.79
