2018 Benjamin de Rothschild Vega Sicilia Macan

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

94+/100 Parker
95/100 Sucking

Pablo Álvarez from Vega Sicilia decided to participate in a new project in Rioja. Already in the year 2000 people started (secretly) with the purchase of very old vineyards in Sonsierra, part of the Rioja Alavesa. The partner was the Swiss banker Benjamin de Rothschild. Not de Rothschild from Lafite or Mouton, but from 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. So it is no coincidence that the new company bears the name Macán.

Macán markets two wines, the Macán and the Macán Clásico, both a thoroughbred Rioja of 100% Tempranillo. The Clásico is the base wine, the Mácan the prestige cuvée, avoiding the term Reserva.

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