Bodegas Muga, Rioja Alta, Spain

Bodegas Muga  – Since its founding in 1932 in Haro, the heart of Rioja Alta, Bodegas Muga has remained a family-owned bastion of classic winemaking. Their commitment to quality is absolute, from fermenting exclusively in oak vats to crafting their own barrels in one of Spain's last remaining cooperages.

 HK$138/bt - 60 bottles available    

92 points James Suckling
Attractive nose with a subtle creamy touch to the melon, cantaloupe and nectarines. Crisp and dry, with a medium body and touches of salinity and phenolics at the end. Viura, malvasia and garnacha blanca. An early harvest from this hot vintage, which is crucial to keeping the acidity and liveliness of this wine. 60% fermented in barrels and the rest on the lees.

 HK$220/bt - 36 bottles available    

94 points Jeb Dunnuck
The winery’s flagship, the wine that introduced Muga to the world, the 2021 Muga Reserva is Tempranillo-dominant, with Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano filling in the gaps. A larger-production wine, it offers tremendous quality, fermented in wooden vats using indigenous yeasts, the grapes separated by quality, soil type, and village origin. This one in particular is from a beautiful vintage and practically beams in full-bodied concentration, with supple, silky tannins and light touches of oak spice, cedar, balsamic, and white pepper.

HK$278/bt - 60 bottles available 

95 points Jeb Dunnck
From a slightly more challenging year for the region, 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.