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Bodegas Benjamin Rothschild and Vega Sicilia Macan 2017

R1,530.00

Region: Rioja

Tasting note:

“Macán is a modern and very personal take on the premium quality and highly expressive wines of the DOCa Rioja. It is a commitment to fineness, elegance, complexity and power. And it is the flagship of Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia, the project launched by Tempos Vega Sicilia and the Compagnie Vinicole Baron Edmond de Rothschild in 2004.” – Winemaker

“2017 was a very challenging year, as most of their vineyards in San Vicente de la Sonsierra in Rioja were affected by frost, unlike others in nearby Laguardia. Not only was it frost, but they also had hail later on in the season. Quantities suffered—they told me they lost 70% of the crop in Rioja that year—but they were happy about the quality of the 2017 Macán, being very careful with the fermentation and separating the press wine by quality. The 4,000-liter oak foudres helped to polish the tannins, and they used 50% new barrels. The élevage lasted 16 moths. It’s a little riper than the Clásico from 2018 that I tasted next to it, with a little more alcohol (14.5%) and mellow acidity. It’s clearly a weaker vintage, and the wine shows it: the fruit is a little ripe and shows some tiredness, like it’s evolving at a faster pace. It has abundant, slightly rustic tannins. It was bottled in September 2019. Quantities reflect the low yields. Best After 2022” – Robert Parker

“Focused without being showy, this is somewhat subdued at first and opens slowly in the glass. Offers a core of bitter cherry, macerated strawberry, medicinal herbs and smoke backed by orange peel acidity and dense tannins. A good showing from a challenging vintage. Drink now.” – Wine Spectator

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Vega Sicilia and Benjamin de Rothschild began the project 10 years ago, with the discreet but steady acquisition of multiple vineyard plots from smallholder 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. In the true style of Vega Sicilia, their purchases concentrated on the very best ‘terroir’, with stony calcareous clay soils, complex warm and cool mesoclimatic influences, and deep-rooted Tempranillo vines of 25 to 80 years in age.

MACAN is the name chosen for the wines, derived from a traditional name for the people of this sub-region of Rioja. Each year, they aim to produce two wines, MACAN and MACAN CLASICO, “a first and a second wine following the Bordeaux tradition of classification by tasting the different lots and bottling a first wine with more potential and a second wine 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 – after trials, they decided against American oak – but the style is not modern “alto espreccion” either. Perhaps the term Neo-Classical is most apt, with complex mineral-infused fruit and discreet oak influences, underpinned by a fine but firm structure. These are definitely “fine wines” in the grand European tradition, and sure to generate serious media, trade and consumer interest.

Cultivar: Tempranillo