Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.
Vintner Notes
Macan Classico is the second wine in the Bordeaux sense, even though the name might be rather confusing and some people might think this is the superior cuvee. It’s clearly a more accessible wine than its sibling, and that’s intentional. Bright ruby-colored, with some red fruit and lactic notes complemented by licorice, spices, smoke, coffee, vanilla, balsamic, smoked meat, sweet fruit, and chocolate. Elegant and harmonious, it is medium-bodied with balanced acidity and good length. It’s quite approachable and pleasant to drink with some fine tannins.
Ratings
Rober Parker 93.The second wine is the 2017 Macán Clásico, which since 2016 has been vinified in the new "cuverie" that allows for a more precise extraction for each plot fermenting in stainless steel. In 2017, they reduced the new oak to 50%, and 10% of the volume was aged in American oak barrels crafted by the Vega Sicilia coopers. They were also more selective with the press wine. The élevage lasted 12 months, and the wine was kept in bottle for no less than 18 months. They lost two-thirds of the crop due to the terrible frost, and the end of the season was warm and dry with an early harvest. They did a softer everything, and the wine has a creamy and gentle quality, ripe without excess, a little in the style of the 2015, with finer tannins, a fine thread and texture and a long, dry and supple finish. This is definitely a warmer year for Macán Clásico but a triumph over the adverse conditions of the year.
James Suckling 93.A chewy 2017 Rioja with blackberry, oyster shell and dark chocolate. It’s full-bodied and tannic, but there’s a linear feel to it with fresh acidity. Give it time to soften. Try after 2021.
