Muga Reserva 2022
Muga Reserva 2022
93+ Wine Advocate
Drink Date: 2026 - 2036
The 2022 Reserva, sold as Crianza in Spain, has more tertiary notes than other people's Gran Reserva, even though it has a very classical profile. It is mostly Tempranillo with some Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano from vineyards no more than 25 kilometers from the winery in Haro, cropped from a warm and dry year. Here, what they did was wait; it rained a little, the plants unblocked and they had the patience to wait for the grapes to ripen fully. So, the grapes were in a very healthy state, and winemaker Isaac Muga likes to ferment the grapes destemmed and lightly crushed in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and then mature the wine in 90% French and 10% American oak barrels for 22 months, with racking every eight to nine months. It has good ripeness, 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.59 and 5.45 grams of acidity, and it's medium- to full bodied, concentrated but sleek and polished, with fine-grained tannins, very supple flavors and a chalky finish. It still has some toasty notes in the finish that should integrate with a little bit more time. 945,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2025. They are very happy with 2022, and they even produced Prado Enea and a tiny quantity of Aro.
The Muga family has 475 hectares of vineyards and keep buying vineyards from suppliers when they don't have anybody to take over from them. These vineyards cover around 60% of their needs, and they buy the rest from local growers. They have started the process of obtaining organic certification for some plots, as they do not use insecticides, herbicides or mineral fertilizers and apply sustainable practices, using pheromones and organic products for the treatment of the vines. They have 14,000 oak barrels and 250 oak vats, as the whole winery is based on wood; they don't use stainless steel at all. They produce 2.2 million bottles per year.
They are releasing wines from different vintages, and their take on the different years is not exactly like it is with other producers. They consider 2023 and 2024 quite challenging; in 2024, they only produced a Reserva red (and El Andén, where they have a lot of Garnacha from Tudelilla that was harvested before) and none of the others, because they see a lot of dilution in the wines because of the rain just before the harvest. 2022 was very good despite the warm temperatures and scarce rain, but for them, 2023 was warmer and they didn't make Prado Enea or Torre Muga. 2021 was a stellar year in Rioja and many other regions in Spain. As for 2025, winemaker Isaac Muga told me he likes it better than 2024; the wines are more aromatic, very clean and more approachable because 2024 was more challenging and 2025 was very healthy, even if it was a short crop. The results were very good, if you didn't harvest too early. The young white and the rosés are already from 2025. Published: Mar 12, 2026
GRAPES
Tempranillo, Grenache, and Graciano.
SOIL
Clay-limestone, classic Rioja soils.
WINEMAKING
Harvested by hand, Fermentation with indigenous yeast in wooden vats.
AGING
Aged for 24 months in casks made from our selected oak. The wood is sourced in a proportion of 80% French oak and 20% oak from America. Before bottling the wine is fined using fresh egg whites. It is then left to refine in our bottle cellar for a minimum of 12 months before release for sale.
