2010 Bodegas Muga Rioja Selección Especial
Community Tasting Note
grenache lover Likes this wine:
Tuesday, December 30, 2014 - From the last trully excellent vintage in Rioja (2010), this Muga Reserva Selección Especial has been awarded with too much oak which is clogging the fruit. Give it some air and you can feel the fruit fighting for its life but the charcoal, the toasted notes and the oaky tannins are winning the battle at the moment. The wine displays 14% alcohol in the label, and the mouth is balanced. Actually, the wine drinks well and it will be of appeal to wine drinkers in search of oaky reds. I just prefer my wines to come from fruit than from oak. I scored it 89 based on this experience.
I edited my original note to say that, on day 3, with just the cork back to the bottle which sat on the counter, the wine displays more fruit and the oak seems more integrated. A better wine, I think. Therefore, I have updated my score from 89 to 91 because the wine is well made and it gets more balanced with oxygen. Take into account if you prefer less oaky reds.
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2 comments have been posted
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (5,433 views)
Comment posted by macaujames:
3/26/2016 11:23:00 PM - I found this excellent yet terribly oaky and tannic too. I think this should be lain down for 3.4 years and you?
Comment posted by grenache lover:
3/27/2016 2:26:00 AM - Frankly, I do not know. Maybe it will get better, or maybe the fruit will not survive the oak. I have seem both happening, though my experience is that when the wine is not balanced from the beginning, time is not going to make it a balanced wine. I did not buy more and neither do I intend to do so, and it is not an expensive wine in Spain. So you can feel my interest.