Macan, Macan Clasico - Magnum 2013

Red wine wholly made using the Tempranillo variety. After the alcoholic fermentation, the malolactic process is carried out with 30% in barrels and the remaining 70% in tanks. The ageing takes place in extrafine and fine grain French wood, the majority in new barrels and the rest in one-wine barrels. It remains in wood for 15 months and then in bottles until it is sold.

Vega Sicilia and Benjamin de Rothschild began the Mac�n project 10 years ago with the steady acquisition of parcels in Rioja, purchased from small farmers. In this way, they quietly built up what is now a sizeable holding of 120 hectares, all within 10 km of the village of San Vicente in the Rioja Alta.� (The name �Mac�n� is derived from a traditional name for the people of this sub-region of Rioja. ) They focused on the best terroirs, with stony calcareous clay soils, complex mesoclimatic influences, and deep-rooted Tempranillo vines ranging in age from 25 to 80 years old. Each year, the winery aims to produce two wines, Mac�n and Mac�n Clasico, in a tradition they took from Bordeaux, where it is standard to produce a �first� and a �second� wine; the first is made with lots that show more potential, and the second is more expressive and easy to drink when young.� This is perhaps the most notable influence of the Rothschild family on the project, because otherwise all viticulture and winemaking is in the hands of the Vega Sicilia team. The style of the wines is certainly not �traditional� Rioja� for example, after trials, they decided against American oak. Perhaps the term Neo-Classical is most apt, with complex mineral-infused fruit and discreet oak influences, underpinned by a fine but firm structure.