Bodegas Muga Reserva 2020

I keep six of these in my fridge at home. Not my cellar. My fridge. That is how often I open it. Wednesday night, did not feel like thinking, grabbed a Muga. It was perfect. It is always perfect. Muga does everything the old way. They still make their own barrels. They still fine with egg whites. The bodega in Haro has been running since 1932 and the Reserva has not changed its approach once. Tempranillo-dominant, 26 months in a mix of French and American oak, another year in bottle before they let it go. Dark cherry, vanilla, leather, baking spice, a tobacco note that shows up on the finish and stays. It is not trying to be modern. It is not trying to be anything other than what Rioja has always been when someone cares enough to do it right. Here is what kills me. The tariff pushes a $25 Muga to $33-36 by late summer. Still a good wine at that price. But the gap between what it costs and what it tastes like is the whole reason I recommend it. That gap is about to shrink. Buy the case now. Drink half this year. Forget the other half in your cellar for three years. Either way you win.