2020 Sierra Cantabria Mágico
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How full and heavy the wine feels in your mouth, like the difference between skimmed milk and cream. More alcohol, sugar and oak ageing make a wine fuller.
The drying, grippy feel on your gums and tongue, as with strong tea. It comes from the skins and seeds of black grapes and from oak, and softens with age.
How much sugar you taste, from dry to sweet. Fruity is not the same as sweet: a dry wine can taste of ripe fruit.
How fresh and juicy the wine is: acidity makes your mouth water. High acidity tastes lively and refreshing, low acidity soft and round.
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The bars follow how sommeliers taste (WSET): body, tannin, sweetness and acidity, each from low to high.
Body: full-bodied. Like most red wines from Rioja; 14% alcohol.
Tannin: firm. From ; aged in oak.
Sweetness: dry. Red wine from is almost always dry.
Acidity: medium. from the temperate climate of Rioja.
Aromas: earthy notes, dark fruit and red fruit, typical of
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Log inAt Sierra Cantabria, or the Riojans, they are always in search of authentic and pure wines that express their origin, landscape, culture, tradition, ancestors, family, and personal experiences. In this wine, Sierra Cantabria Mágico, all these qualities come together. The Sierra Cantabria Mágico comes from a small vineyard: El Vardallo (also known as Las Sepulturas), measuring only 1.18 hectares, located in San Vicente de la Sonsierra.
Click here for an extensive article about this iconic wine.
It is a vineyard that was spared from the phylloxera crisis at the beginning of the 20th century, and some vines are more than 150 years old. As was customary at the time, a single (small) vineyard contained a wide range of varieties, both red and white. Among the red wines are 65% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache, 2.5% Graciano, 1% Petit Bouschet, and 1.1% others; among the white varieties are 4.4% Calagraño, 3.2% Turruntés (Rioja), and 2.8% Viura (Macabeo).
The Magico is produced using very traditional Rioja viticulture techniques. The vineyard is worked entirely by hand and plowed with horses. The Eguren family uses biodynamic techniques to ensure sustainability and the maintenance of the soil microbiome. The vineyards are naturally fertilized every two years. The vineyard soil consists of sandy loam with little organic matter, and beneath the subsoil there is a cap of iron and calcareous clay, which is crucial for water retention. The bedrock is also present at the same depth. The climate is continental with Atlantic influences moderated by the Sierra Cantabria mountain range.
All grape varieties were destemmed by hand and rigorously sorted. All varieties except the Garnacha were lightly crushed and macerated in small wooden vats. The Garnacha was fermented and macerated separately in a wooden vat. Maceration lasted 21 days for the blended varieties and 15 days for the Garnacha. Malolactic fermentation took place in new French oak barriques. The blended varieties underwent malolactic fermentation in one 500 L and four 225 L vats. The Garnacha underwent malolactic fermentation in a 500-liter vat.
Sierra Cantabria Mágico represents the Eguren family's desire to produce a superior wine from Rioja, just as they do with their Teso La Monja. Due to their long history with incredible single-vineyard wines, they felt it was a challenge to keep improving and saw that surpassing that quality was possible when they discovered the El Vardallo vineyard. Vineyards this old simply almost no longer exist in Rioja, and the qualities are countless. The grape blend is an incredible treasure trove of authentic varieties, each adding character and complexity to the final wine.
Antonio Galloni of Vinous writes about the 2020 (the 2021 has just been released and reviewed): " This wine seems to be from another planet—one where magic occurs in reality ."
Fun fact: Cult wines are often tampered with these days, and this wine is no exception. We are the official importer, and you can verify via the Sierra Cantabria website whether you have an official bottle supplied by an importer. This ensures you do not accidentally receive a counterfeit or refilled bottle. You can do this at: http://www.sierracantabria.com/en/wineries/vinedos-sierra-cantabria/sierra-cantabria-magico/
The Magico from Sierra Cantabria has a fresh cherry color in the glass. On the nose, the Magico has beautiful notes of blueberry, tobacco, cedarwood, cherry, and mineral and toasty undertones. On the palate, the Magico red wine is very intense, super elegant, and complex with silky tannins. The wine has beautiful smoky notes due to the new French oak. Velvety smooth on the palate. Excellent balance between the acidity and the ripe tannins with a very long finish. The wine has received unanimously great reviews. This is a collector's item.
Character
The wine
- 100%
Origin
Bottle
Wine features
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 96
Reviewed by:
Luis Gutiérrez
Release Price:
$750
Drink Date:
2025 - 2033
The 2020 Mágico was produced with 65% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 4.4% Calagraño, 3.2% Turruntés, 2.8 % Viura, 2.5% Graciano, 1.1% other reds and white grapes and 1% Petit Bouschet, all from one single vineyard, El Vardallo (others write Bardallo), located in the higher part of San Vicente de la Sonsierra planted with the typical field blend at the time in the early 20th century after phylloxera. The hand-destemmed grapes fermented in oak vats, all the varieties together except the Garnacha. Malolactic was in barrels, 500- and 225-liter ones, where the wine matured. It is aromatic and floral, with finesse, red fruit, and it's quite fresh in the context of the wines from 2020. It’s a gentler wine with the complexity and nuance of the dozen varieties used. A superb result for a year like 2020. 2,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2023.
Published:
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James Suckling
Score
97
Sierra Cantabria Rioja Mágico 2020
Saturday, Jul 11, 2026
Color
Red
Country
Spain
Region
La Rioja
Vintage
2020
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Compared to 2021 this is more subtle and tender, very approachable without the marked structure of the 2021 but friendly with more integrated acidity. Medium-bodied with a more open and ample expression. This was a vintage with rain in early September that resulted in larger berries. Succulent and juicy. Drink or hold.
Jacobo García Andrade
Senior Editor
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Vinous
98
Drinking Window
2024 - 2040
From: The Many Riojas of Rioja: A Tale of Forking Paths (Apr 2024)
Mágico translates to "enchanted" or "magical" in Spanish, reflecting the quality of the location of this special vineyard—a tiny shoulder on the Toñoño mount, planted over 100 years ago. The 2020 Mágico is a faithful blend of 65% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 4.4% Calagraño, 3.2% Turruntés, 2.8% Viura, 2.5% Graciano, 1% Petit Bouschet and 1.1% other varieties hailing from Barranco Bardallo, San Vicente de la Sonsierra. Aged for 26 months in French oak barrels, this purplish wine unfolds with fruity notes of raspberry, watermelon, elder and sweetbrier, soaring over a cedar core with hints of dried flowers and cotton candy. Dry, compact and chalky, the juicy and polished tannins lead to a refreshing, mouthwatering, lasting finish. Intense and nuanced, this Sonsierra wine seems to be from another planet—one where magic occurs in reality.
- By Joaquín Hidalgo on December 2023
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100/100
MÁGICO 2020 RECEIVES 100 POINTS IN THE PROENSA GUIDE 2024
In total, there are 14 outstanding references in the Guide, with a score above 90 points.
On the podium is Mágico 2020, which receives the maximum score of 100 points. Wine is a world of sensations and emotions that take us on a journey. At Viñedos y Bodegas Sierra Cantabria, this premise is clear. As Riojans, we always seek authentic wines, with purity that expresses where they come from: the landscape, culture, tradition, ancestors, family, and personal experiences. In our wine, 'Sierra Cantabria Mágico,' all these qualities come together.
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The Spanish winery Sierra Cantabria was founded in 1957 by Guillermo Eguren and is one of Hermanos Eguren's beautiful wineries. Sierra Cantabria is located in the Rioja in a unique location between the River Ebro and the Sierra Cantabria mountain range. The Sierra Cantabria Mountains (1200m.) And the River Ebro (350m.) Provide a special microclimate with Mediterranean and continental features - mild winters and mild summers, unique to wine growing.
On the other hand, the thermal summer jump (intense heat during the day with fresh night temperatures) increases the polyphenol content, which makes for excellent quality wines with a distinctive character.
The vineyards of Bodega Sierra Cantabria are mainly located in the towns of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Labastida and Laguardia, an area very well known for wine growing.
The Tempranillo variety predominates, along with small amounts of Garnacha, Viura and 'Hairy Tempranillo', all of which are grown in vineyards about 35 years old, although there are also plots up to 70 years old.The harvest is carried out by hand every year, paying special attention to the rigorous selection of the grapes that are the soul of the wine, in optimal condition and in perfect ripening conditions. The careful harvest is followed by a thorough separation of the bunches, which is done on a selection table at the entrance of the winery. Winemaking is aimed at minimal intervention in the winery to fully respect the character of the terroir
Sinaasappelrode kersen en rijpe framboos ontmoeten florale tonen, cederhout, lichte tabak en een fijne minerale ondertoon, met zijdezachte tannines en frisse zuren die de wijn elegant en lang laten nablijven. Daardoor vormt deze Mágico een perfecte partner voor rundvlees, lamsgerechten, wild, charcuterie en gerijpte kazen; de tannines en zuren snijden door vet en geven balans, terwijl de kruidige en rokerige houttonen harmoniëren met gerookte of gegrild vlees. Kies voor sappige grillstukken zoals ribeye of entrecôte, langzaam gegaard lamsvlees met rozemarijn of kruidkorst, gestoofd hert met jeneverbessen of een bord met Iberische ham, gerookte chorizo en oude Manchego om het beste uit de wijn te halen.
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