2010 Benjamin de Rothschild Vega Sicilia Macan

The Rioja by Benjamin de Rothschild y Vega Sicilia Macan. The color is ruby red with a very fruity nose in the nose, but the great thing is that everything is there but nothing stands out!! In the mouth, the Macan is solid and tight without being really heavy. It has really velvety tannins.

93/100 Parker
93/100 Suckling

Pablo Álvarez from Vega Sicilia decided to participate in a new project in Rioja. Already in the year 2000 they started (secretly) with the purchase of very old vineyards in Sonsierra, part of the Rioja Alavesa. The Swiss banker Benjamin de Rothschild was found as a partner. Not the Rothschild of Lafite or Mouton, but of LCF Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, owner of Château Clarke and Château Malmaison in Listrac and Moulis respectively, partner in the South African Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons and also in possession of vineyards in Argentina.

Álvarez and de Rothschild invested approximately 26 million euros in, among other things, the purchase and construction of 110 hectares of vineyards and the construction of a new production facility in Samaniego. A large part (65ha) of the vineyards is located in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, where the people are known as Maçanes. It is therefore no coincidence that the new company bears the name Macán.

Macán markets two wines, the Macán and the Macán Clásico, both a 100% Tempranillo full-blooded Rioja. The Clásico is the base wine, the Mácan the prestigecuvée, avoiding the term Reserva.

Macan is made from 100% tempranillo from a 30 year old vineyard. The wine was aged for 18 months in French oak (70% new and 30% used). After this upbringing, it has had a further 3 years of bottle aging. This macan is the top model in which people consciously choose to avoid the too often misused term Reserva. The color is ruby red with a very fruity nose in the nose, but the great thing is that everything is there but nothing stands out!! In the mouth, the Macan is solid and tight without being really heavy. It has really velvety tannins, very balanced and very elegant. A top Rioja but in the end this also comes from Vega Sicilia and Rothschild.