Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia Macan Clasico 2019

“The second wine in the Bordeaux sense is the 2019 Macán Clásico, a more concentrated and powerful wine cropped from a warmer and drier year that was saved by the 80 liters of rain in the first half of September. It fermented in stainless steel with 10% of their own yeasts, and the élevage was 22% in stainless steel and the rest in new and used oak barrels, mostly French but with around 5% of them American, and lasted 12 months. It has a moderate 14% alcohol, mellow acidity and good freshness and balance. 2019 was a dry and warm year when they did a soft vinification to avoid harsh tannins. The nose is ripe without excess, and the oak is neatly integrated. The palate is juicy and round, with fine tannins and a velvety texture. 77,316 bottles, 1,050 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in August 2021.”
93+ Points, Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate, Jan 2023

Macán Clásico is an exemplary wine from the Sonsierra region of La Rioja, steeped in centuries of tradition, knowledge and winemaking culture in the foothills of the Sierra de Cantabria. It conveys the terroir’s freshness, fruitiness, liveliness, and delicateness, which provides depth and complexity. A lot of hard work went into selecting, acquiring, and nurturing 100 hectares of vineyard for this wine since 2004, along with the evolution in winemaking since the debut 2009 vintage. Furthermore, Tempos Vega Sicilia and Compagnie Vinicole Baron Edmond de Rothschild have jointly owned modern facilities in the Rioja DOCa region since 2016, where innovation, technology, and wine science converge. Macán Clásico is made from a single variety: Tempranillo. The grapes come from plots with alkaline sandy-clay soils. Concentration and power were expected from this vintage given the warmer growing season, but 80mm of September rainfall hydrated the skins and firmed up the grape texture.

The Vintage
2019 was a dry year. The lack of water during May, June, and July affected the vineyard, with temperatures slightly higher than average, even during winter and autumn. In fact, it can be considered the warmest year of the decade, with a heatwave at the end of June and start of July that, unusually, saw temperatures topping 40?. The drought affected the entire ripening phase, with the berries only swelling very slightly. However, the 80mm that fell during the first fortnight of September helped alleviate the vines’ water needs, with the fruit quickly swelling. Ultimately, the weather was kind to the harvest, with the region experiencing mild temperatures, a limited diurnal temperature