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.
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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.
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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 et frisk moden touch.
Syren er mild og renser lige tandkødet.
Tannin af, knuste kirsebærkerner, sort/grønt te, lidt grønt bitterhed. God tør eftersmag.
Ekstra. Vinen har fået langt større balance af at ligge og udvikle sig. (smagt for 5 år siden, alt for lukke, for meget træ).
Vinen har en ret tæt struktur/virker u filtreret. Den er god nu, men kan godt ligge. 19 feb: Også rigtig god på 2 dag. (tættere moden frugtsmag/struktur) Zalto Burgunder glas.
Wine Enthusiast 93 p Wine Spectator 92 p WA 91 p
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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.
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Doft av mörka bär, plommon, läder, lite vanilj, blåbär, lingon, lavendel. Smak av lite mer åt röda bär, plommon, körsbär, lingon. Kraftfullt och komplext med sekundära aromer som läder, stall och vanilj. Fina tanniner som fortfarande biter tag. Ganska lång eftersmak.
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(From magnum) Lovely bright, fresh nose; sweet fruit and a hint of vanilla. Smooth and bright in the mouth. Bags of fresh fruit. Ever so slightly bitter finish. A bit grippy still. Good length. Extremely drinkable. Pretty much at its peak, I reckon, but with a long life ahead of it.
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Picota cubierto brillante. Nariz intensa, expresiva, fruta negra madura, finos especiados, recuerdos a maderas finas (cedro), hoja de tabaco y un fondo ligeramente mentolado. En boca tiene buen ataque, el paso es cremoso, con cuerpo pero también con notable frescura, largo y estructurado. Armonía y atractiva definición.
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Dark, extracted appearance. Pronounced nose of cassis, spice, spearmint, and dominant oak. Both the French oak and the creamy, vanilla from the American oak come through. Very softened and rounded palate with a chewy characteristic from the well-integrated tannin. Slightly short, sweet finish and no real wow factor but a very good food wine with the exceptionally high drinkability I've come to expect from well-made Rioja. Drinking well now but will continue to improve for 10+ years.
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Pretty tightly wound. Has all the characteristics of a well made wine, nicely extracted, decent acid, well structured, and enjoyable. That said, nothing really stands out. Decanted and drank over 4 hours and it was just barely opening up. Either needs quite a bit of time, or just enjoy it for what it is.
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Expressive, concentrated and plush. A nose of dark, dried fruits, tobacco leaf, cinnamon and clove spices. Nicely concentrated. A rich mouthfeel, plush although tannins are a touch drying initially. Still a pretty solid structure, med-length finish; no reason why this won't last a good few years more. Simple but very enjoyable.
over a year later since my last taste and this still shows no sign whatsoever of ageing into full maturity. This bottle seemed a little more Rioja like - slightly sweetish and a hint of five spice. Good stuff
TWS Spain (Merchant Tailors' Hall): Quite sappy red berry fruit on the palate. Tightly velvety texture. Finishes well with dark red fruit, and the French oak is well handled providing a sense of structure without overt oakiness. ***1/2
At first comes across as somewhat unbalanced and overoaked, but lovely after a 90 minute decant. Still - needs substantial food. Works well with beef stew. Performs well on the second evening. Still young. This should drink well in the next decade. Try another bottle 2016-2020. 90 min decant essential if you are opening one now.
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- Brick color and aromas of cloves, black pepper, chocolate, smokey and coffee and has flavours of cherry, strawberry jam, prune, raisin and cloves - Muscular and gentle, soft and well balanced. So easy to drink it's a plus for that intensity
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New world style. An attempt to extract power but it leaves all the finesse behind. Drank over two days. Nose is nice. Flavors and character got better over the two days. Clumsy overall though. Hands down will go with the standard muga reserva compared to this one.
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Good and powerful wine. Had half the first night and left the other half in the fridge. Still very alive on second night. Comparing price and quality I was a bit disappointed. Not much depth. I will try to decant the next bottle.
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So this was very good, but not enough to justify it's price. Opened and poured through a Vinturi into a decanter. Left for an hour. The most impressive part was the great complexity of bouquet, even on opening. This is clearly serious wine, and has great color. However, on my palate the complexity of the nose was much (30%) less interesting in the mouth, with a surprising amount of acidity. We gave it another two hours, and the complexity went away a little, but not the acidity. Not a bad bottle. Quite agreeable in some ways, but not enough to justify the price. Auto-generation: The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Forest floor, Toast, Raisin, Black Pepper, Coffee, and Blackberry. It tastes like and Mineral. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Bright texture. The wine finishes Medium.
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Baby Muga - had been open for an hour when I tasted it. Dark red color, earth, leather, blackberry, oak was well integrated. Drinking well now - prefer the Torre Muga
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Full body, dark ruby red, aromatic, red berries and species aroma, red forest fruits, paper, spices, minerals, soft tannins, ripe plum on palate currants and dark chocolate on very long finish, juicy, deep, rich, satiated, well balanced. Well drinking with meat Carpaccio, grilled vegetables, fat white cheeses, paella. Serve to 18º - 22º, open half hour before drinking. Very enjoyable now, seen at peak now. Drink now and next 2 – 4 years.
dark ruby in color. earth, dark berry, floral, spice, on the nose. blackberry, oak, spice, clove, black pepper, toast, on the palate. mild tannins, medium acid, on the finish.
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A blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 10% Mazuelo/Graciano; 28 months on oak, 80% French 20% American; 14% ABV. Full colour; crushed red and ripe black fruit, hint of spice, silky, polished, graphite, floral topnote, good depth, a modern style but focused on elegance rather than maximum extraction, well-integrated oak - slightly dry if I were nit-picking, otherwise seamless, stylish; very good length. Now -2020.
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Surprisingly dark in the glass. Fruity, slightly floral and dusty nose. Interesting is a word. Mouth coating in a pleasant way - would be an astounding buy at $20, at $30 it's still pretty darn nice.
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Deep red in colour. Fruity. Lots of tannins. Made with balance of new and old French and American oak. In wood for 28 months. Will be good in a couple of years I reckon.
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Russ and Mike's Tapas Party (Paradise Valley, AZ): The nose is the best part of this wine, offers a glimpse at a promising experience. But unfortunately the palate did not back it up. Middle of the road wine, dark muted fruit on the attack and then not much follow through to the finish. Not a very good QPR.
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Mineral dusty nose in front of some floral tones. Beautiful dark fruit palet with pleasant acidity. Surprising for this classsic rioja is balance, not too oaky. Will improve still.
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3/12/2022 - Borrejac Likes this wine: 91 Points
This magnum is still drinking fine and actually improved since last tasting. We enjoyed with beef. Great Rioja.
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7/17/2021 - foyfrcs Likes this wine: 89 Points
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.
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6/28/2021 - t0pshelf Likes this wine:
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.
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2/18/2021 - Lionshield Likes this wine: 92 Points
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 et frisk moden touch.
Syren er mild og renser lige tandkødet.
Tannin af, knuste kirsebærkerner, sort/grønt te, lidt grønt bitterhed.
God tør eftersmag.
Ekstra. Vinen har fået langt større balance af at ligge og udvikle sig. (smagt for 5 år siden, alt for lukke, for meget træ).
Vinen har en ret tæt struktur/virker u filtreret.
Den er god nu, men kan godt ligge.
19 feb: Også rigtig god på 2 dag. (tættere moden frugtsmag/struktur)
Zalto Burgunder glas.
Wine Enthusiast 93 p
Wine Spectator 92 p
WA 91 p
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10/22/2020 - james05500 Likes this wine: 92 Points
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.
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3/9/2019 - Ribera74 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Doft av mörka bär, plommon, läder, lite vanilj, blåbär, lingon, lavendel.
Smak av lite mer åt röda bär, plommon, körsbär, lingon. Kraftfullt och komplext med sekundära aromer som läder, stall och vanilj. Fina tanniner som fortfarande biter tag. Ganska lång eftersmak.
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2/24/2019 - Borrejac Likes this wine: 87 Points
Nice Rioja, but I had expected more - drinking great now.
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9/11/2018 - ricard Likes this wine: 94 Points
The nose is sensational on this one. Soft tannins, gorgeously sweet and fruity, velvety, sensual, just entering its window of beauty. Wonderful.
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5/19/2018 - Nostromo99 Likes this wine: 90 Points
(From magnum) Lovely bright, fresh nose; sweet fruit and a hint of vanilla. Smooth and bright in the mouth. Bags of fresh fruit. Ever so slightly bitter finish. A bit grippy still. Good length. Extremely drinkable. Pretty much at its peak, I reckon, but with a long life ahead of it.
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5/20/2017 - king-bing wrote:
Fine; if disappointing. Not my character. Not my favourite vintage of this. Just not that interesting.
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12/24/2016 - lars@thorstensen.dk Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fab. wine at chistmas eve still concentated very good drinking now cellar Well for 3-5years
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11/6/2016 - Herschel Krustofski Likes this wine: 92 Points
just ready. Opening up nicely after a 2 hour decant. Can be kept a further 6-8 years or more.
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10/29/2016 - Cf_robert wrote: 95 Points
Bought the bottle 2-3 years and it aged perfectly! Definitely at its prime!
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6/24/2016 - PacoHigon Likes this wine: 91 Points
Picota cubierto brillante. Nariz intensa, expresiva, fruta negra madura, finos especiados, recuerdos a maderas finas (cedro), hoja de tabaco y un fondo ligeramente mentolado. En boca tiene buen ataque, el paso es cremoso, con cuerpo pero también con notable frescura, largo y estructurado. Armonía y atractiva definición.
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4/16/2016 - OmiyaDrinker wrote: 91 Points
Dark, extracted appearance. Pronounced nose of cassis, spice, spearmint, and dominant oak. Both the French oak and the creamy, vanilla from the American oak come through. Very softened and rounded palate with a chewy characteristic from the well-integrated tannin. Slightly short, sweet finish and no real wow factor but a very good food wine with the exceptionally high drinkability I've come to expect from well-made Rioja. Drinking well now but will continue to improve for 10+ years.
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3/6/2016 - NickHBailey Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pretty tightly wound. Has all the characteristics of a well made wine, nicely extracted, decent acid, well structured, and enjoyable. That said, nothing really stands out. Decanted and drank over 4 hours and it was just barely opening up. Either needs quite a bit of time, or just enjoy it for what it is.
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12/5/2015 - Phenol73 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Expressive, concentrated and plush. A nose of dark, dried fruits, tobacco leaf, cinnamon and clove spices. Nicely concentrated. A rich mouthfeel, plush although tannins are a touch drying initially. Still a pretty solid structure, med-length finish; no reason why this won't last a good few years more. Simple but very enjoyable.
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8/18/2015 - belfast taxman wrote: 89 Points
over a year later since my last taste and this still shows no sign whatsoever of ageing into full maturity. This bottle seemed a little more Rioja like - slightly sweetish and a hint of five spice. Good stuff
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4/22/2015 - Kris G wrote: 88 Points
dark and full color, bombastic, needs time, this is especially noticeable in the aftertaste
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11/10/2014 - SimonG wrote: 90 Points
TWS Spain (Merchant Tailors' Hall): Quite sappy red berry fruit on the palate. Tightly velvety texture. Finishes well with dark red fruit, and the French oak is well handled providing a sense of structure without overt oakiness. ***1/2
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9/23/2014 - mwneil Likes this wine:
Crowd fav in FW; really good wine with some funk and nice balance and good complexity, somewhat delicate but lots of flavor; would drink again;
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7/31/2014 - t0pshelf Likes this wine:
Oaky with soft tannins -- finish is slightly bitter. OK wine, but expected a bit more at this price point.
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6/23/2014 - Herschel Krustofski Likes this wine:
At first comes across as somewhat unbalanced and overoaked, but lovely after a 90 minute decant. Still - needs substantial food. Works well with beef stew. Performs well on the second evening.
Still young. This should drink well in the next decade. Try another bottle 2016-2020.
90 min decant essential if you are opening one now.
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6/14/2014 - maxmanx wrote:
I found it way too oaky.
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3/18/2014 - belfast taxman wrote: 90 Points
Dark in colour and not a traditional Rioja but certainly with typical Muga power and depth with good upfront fruit
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1/5/2014 - Simonea2777 wrote:
- Brick color and aromas of cloves, black pepper, chocolate, smokey and coffee and has flavours of cherry, strawberry jam, prune, raisin and cloves - Muscular and gentle, soft and well balanced. So easy to drink it's a plus for that intensity
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11/30/2013 - cristian_m wrote: 84 Points
New world style. An attempt to extract power but it leaves all the finesse behind. Drank over two days. Nose is nice. Flavors and character got better over the two days. Clumsy overall though. Hands down will go with the standard muga reserva compared to this one.
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11/30/2013 - Kaerhoeg wrote: 89 Points
Good and powerful wine. Had half the first night and left the other half in the fridge. Still very alive on second night. Comparing price and quality I was a bit disappointed. Not much depth. I will try to decant the next bottle.
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11/18/2013 - chrisvonsimson Does not like this wine: 86 Points
So this was very good, but not enough to justify it's price. Opened and poured through a Vinturi into a decanter. Left for an hour. The most impressive part was the great complexity of bouquet, even on opening. This is clearly serious wine, and has great color. However, on my palate the complexity of the nose was much (30%) less interesting in the mouth, with a surprising amount of acidity. We gave it another two hours, and the complexity went away a little, but not the acidity. Not a bad bottle. Quite agreeable in some ways, but not enough to justify the price.
Auto-generation: The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Forest floor, Toast, Raisin, Black Pepper, Coffee, and Blackberry. It tastes like and Mineral. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Bright texture. The wine finishes Medium.
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10/3/2013 - walkerjfw wrote: 90 Points
Baby Muga - had been open for an hour when I tasted it. Dark red color, earth, leather, blackberry, oak was well integrated. Drinking well now - prefer the Torre Muga
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6/20/2013 - Alemany wrote: 90 Points
Just awesome!
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6/18/2013 - vlzat wrote: 91 Points
Full body, dark ruby red, aromatic, red berries and species aroma, red forest fruits, paper, spices, minerals, soft tannins, ripe plum on palate currants and dark chocolate on very long finish, juicy, deep, rich, satiated, well balanced. Well drinking with meat Carpaccio, grilled vegetables, fat white cheeses, paella. Serve to 18º - 22º, open half hour before drinking. Very enjoyable now, seen at peak now. Drink now and next 2 – 4 years.
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6/8/2013 - seanb wrote:
Not as smooth as other Rijoas that we've had but still tasty. A touch acidic.
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5/11/2013 - affordableCollector wrote: 89 Points
dark ruby in color. earth, dark berry, floral, spice, on the nose. blackberry, oak, spice, clove, black pepper, toast, on the palate. mild tannins, medium acid, on the finish.
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1/1/2013 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
A blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 10% Mazuelo/Graciano; 28 months on oak, 80% French 20% American; 14% ABV. Full colour; crushed red and ripe black fruit, hint of spice, silky, polished, graphite, floral topnote, good depth, a modern style but focused on elegance rather than maximum extraction, well-integrated oak - slightly dry if I were nit-picking, otherwise seamless, stylish; very good length. Now -2020.
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11/28/2012 - j3w wrote:
Surprisingly dark in the glass. Fruity, slightly floral and dusty nose. Interesting is a word. Mouth coating in a pleasant way - would be an astounding buy at $20, at $30 it's still pretty darn nice.
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11/12/2012 - PC73 wrote:
Deep red in colour. Fruity. Lots of tannins.
Made with balance of new and old French and American oak. In wood for 28 months.
Will be good in a couple of years I reckon.
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10/4/2012 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:
Sweet, ripe black fruit, soft Bordelais style.
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9/2/2012 - Papies wrote: flawed
Badly corked. Shame
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6/23/2012 - johnh1001 wrote: 91 Points
Tasted at the winery. Very nice. Nose of coffee, vanilla and some alcohol. Full. Rich. Smooth. Dark fruit. Medium finish. Still young.
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3/26/2012 - brigcampbell wrote: 86 Points
Russ and Mike's Tapas Party (Paradise Valley, AZ): The nose is the best part of this wine, offers a glimpse at a promising experience. But unfortunately the palate did not back it up. Middle of the road wine, dark muted fruit on the attack and then not much follow through to the finish. Not a very good QPR.
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2/1/2012 - MGHSpain wrote: 87 Points
Mineral dusty nose in front of some floral tones. Beautiful dark fruit palet with pleasant acidity. Surprising for this classsic rioja is balance, not too oaky. Will improve still.
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