Muga Rioja Prado Enea Gran Reserva 2015

99 points Tim Atkin, MW: "(14.5%). Produced in what Isaac Muga calls the "super vintage" of 2015, this is one of the great Prado Eneas, a wine that falls just short of perfection. Sourced from the cool zone close to the Montes Obarenes, it's a stunning, age-worthy cuvée of Tempranillo with 15% Garnacha and 5% Mazuelo, aged in French and American oak. Combining structure with finesse, this is concentrated, chalky yet refreshing with wonderful precision and palate length. 2028-2040. (2023)"

98 points Sarah Jane Evans, MW (Decanter): "Wonderful: a superb Gran Reserva, so finely balanced between the silky tannins and the elegance of maturity. It's fermented in oak, and spends three years in American and French oak barrels (all made by their own cooper). It then spends a further three years in bottle. 2015 made powerful wines, but this is supremely controlled. My favourite from the Muga stable. Alcohol 14.5%. Drinking Window: 2023-2070. (12/6/22)"

98 points/'Cellar Selection,' Wine Enthusiast: "[$110 list] This dark-ruby wine offers a bouquet of ripe cherry and baking spices. Notes of clove and nutmeg transition to the palate alongside flavors of blackberry, cassis, chocolate-covered espresso bean, eucalyptus and violet. Luxurious tannins amble toward a lengthy finish. Drink through 2045. Alcohol 14.5%. (Jul 2023)"

97 points Luis Gutiérrez (Wine Advocate): "The most classical of their wines, the 2015 Prado Enea Gran Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, mostly from Rioja Alta (Sajazarra, Cellorigo and Fonzaleche), but the Garnacha is from different plots in the zone of Tudelilla at high altitude. These grapes are always picked last, but the wine has a similar alcohol level as the rest, around 14.5% in a warm year like 2019. The modus operandi is similar to other of the top cuvées—harvested into 200-kilogram boxes, destemming, optical sorting and fermentation in small oak casks with indigenous yeasts. The élevage in this case is extended to 36 months, and the barrels are only 10% new. This is, year in, year out, my favorite wine from Muga, and in this powerful and ripe year, these late-harvesting vines ripened thoroughly and delivered a full array of aromas and flavors so that the wine has plenty of depth and complexity. It has a very classical profile, with incipient tertiary notes, perfumed, floral and rich, textured and beautifully balanced. They compare this 2015 with 2009 and 2005 in terms of style but with freshness in the style of 2001 and 2010. It's enjoyable but should also develop for a long time in bottle. One of the finest Prado Enea vintages. It was bottled in November 2018. There's no 2012 or 2013 of this. There will be a 2016 and 2019, but no 2017 or 2018. 2020 is still a question mark, they have not yet decided it. Drink: 2022-2040. (7/14/22)"

97 points James Suckling: "Reserved and polished, this is a Prado Enea with great class and focus. It’s so aromatic,with plum, peach, cherry and cedar character. Salted olives, too. Medium-to full-bodied with very fine tannins and a long, fresh finish. Elegance with power here. Give it three or four years to open, but already impressive. (7/4/22)"

96 points Wine & Spirits: "[$110 list] Touching the sensors of pleasure and pain, this wine’s fruit ripened to a red-peach-at-the-pit intensity, while its tannins seem to strangle all that succulence under their delicate, yet persistent grip. Those tannins bring out the floral and earthy sides of the wine, their austerity neither harsh nor drying, triggering salivation and setting up a hunger for leg of lamb roasted pink. The Muga family selects the fruit for Prado Enea from plots in the south-facing hills of Villalba de Rioja. They age it for a year in large American oak vats, then three years in mostly French oak barrels, holding it in bottle for another three years prior to release. (Feb 2023)"

95 points/'Podium Award,' Peñín Guide to Spanish Wine: "(tempranillo, garnacha, mazuelo, graciano). Colour: dark-red cherry, garnet rim. Nose: ripe fruit, fruit preserve, aged wood nuances, tobacco, sweet spices. Palate: spicy, round tannins, long. (2023)"

94 points/'Top 100 Wine of 2022 (#53),' Wine Spectator: "Well-tailored in an understated way, this harmonious red is plushly creamy on the palate, like fine cashmere, showing seamless integration of the sculpted tannins with finely detailed flavors of black cherry and black plum reduction, sandalwood, cedar, green olive, espresso crema and minerally smoke and iron. Long and lightly juicy on the refined finish. Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha. Drink now through 2030. (10/15/22)"