Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia - Rioja 'Macán Clásico' 2020

Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia was born in 2004 as the result of a joint venture between Tempos Vega Sicilia and the Compagnie Vinicole Baron Edmond de Rothschild. Both firms share the idea of making great wines in La Rioja, a unique, singular, inimitable winegrowing region. After five years of terroir evaluation and acquisition of 92 ha of vineyard, the project takes shape in 2009 with the first vintage of our two wines: Macán and Macán Clásico. To offer a modern and unique vision of Rioja, is our philosophy, following the Bordeaux model of a first and second wine.

Macán Clásico is deeply attached to its territory. Freshness, fruitiness and delicacy are its signs of identity. It is produced in stainless steel casks; part of malolactic fermentation in oak; new oak and single-use barrels, aging for 12 to 14 months determined only by the characteristics of the vintage. It later sits in bottle for over 18 months. Macán Clásico offers the purest expression of Rioja´s Tempranillo. It is fresh yet serious, with substance and intensity.

“The 2020 Macán Clásico was cropped from a more generous crop. The grapes were put in a cold chamber for one night and then underwent a cold soak of three to four days, after which they inoculated the yeasts—in 2020, 25% of it was their native yeast. It fermented in stainless steel, and the élevage was 45% in new French and 5% new American oak barrels, 28% in second use barrel and 22% in stainless steel for one year. The bottled wine has 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.78 and 4.5 grams of acidity (tartaric). This is one of the most elegant vintages of this bottling so far. It has showy aromatics with notes of smoky bacon, a bit meaty, and the thing that surprised me the most was the velvety texture. 202,697 bottles, 1,998 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in August 2022.” - 95 points, Wine Enthusiast

“Black olives and a hint of black bean puree to the fresh black cherries, damsons and a hint of mint. Refined, medium-bodied palate with fine, fresh tannins that are present but not grainy. Really elegant and long. Drinkable now, but will develop well in the next six to seven years.” - 94 points, Wine Advocate

Producer: Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia

Country: Spain

Region: Rioja

Varietal: Tempranillo

Appellation: Rioja

Vintage: 2020

Size: 750ml