2021 Torre Muga 6pk

96+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I again tasted the 2021 Torre Muga, which was produced with Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano grapes from 55+-year-old vines in the zones of Labastida, Briñas and Villalba de Rioja between 480 and 560 meters in altitude. The grapes were destemmed and put through an optical sorting machine and fermented in small oak vats with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured in new French oak barrels for 18 months on average, as the different varieties aged separately. It has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.56 and 5.6 grams of acidity, pretty standard parameters here. This is evolving at a very slow pace, and I found it more backward and closed this time, more serious, with less aromas and flavors from the wood, and those toasty and smoky tones are now much better integrated. It has a balanced mouthfeel, with the freshness and fine tannins from the vintage. I found it to be a bit better than last time. 37,355 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2023. The 2022 will be released in 2027.
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.

95 Points - Vinous
The 2021 Torre Muga is a blend of Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano from Rioja. It aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels. Garnet-red in hue, this opens with pronounced oak, blackberry and sour cherry notes, followed by spicy herbs, orange peel, incense and toffee in which the oak is a layered presence. On the palate, it’s juicy and structured, with moderate concentration and a polished texture that conveys both energy and elegance, although it still needs to settle down and integrate properly. This promises to develop a refined, expansive flow with further time in bottle. 
You don’t often see family-run companies thrive once they pass into the hands of cousins. One notable exception is Muga, now led by the third generation of the family. Their stylistic approach blends New World vibrancy with Rioja’s personality, though it leans more toward the classical than the modern, albeit with some primary fruit at the core.