Macán Clásico

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.

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.

The 2021 Macán Clásico comes from a fantastic year in Rioja; it was the second vintage where they used some Garnacha (maybe 5% this year, they are increasing slowly). It was harvested at the same time as Tempranillo and adds freshness. It was a year of above-average rain, a mild spring and some hail in mid-June that affected seven hectares of vines but didn't touch the rest. The weather was stable during the harvest, with mild temperatures. The wine has a moderate 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.7 and 4.7 grams of acidity. Fifty percent of the volume was inoculated with their native yeast, and fermentation was in stainless steel. Forty percent of the wine matured in new French oak barrels, 30% in used French oak, 5% in American oak and the remaining 25% was kept in stainless steel. It has an herbal twist and a more Atlantic character, reflecting a cooler (less warm) vintage. It's fine-grained, textured and chalky, with very fine tannins and great balance. This is a production of 222,532 bottles, 2,001 magnums and some larger formats. It was bottled in August 2023.

They had to fine-tune the harvest dates of the grapes used for the 2022 Macán Clásico, prioritizing freshness over density, which resulted in their earliest harvest in the region, starting on September 11th, 10 days earlier than in 2021. They were also careful with the aging in oak to achieve good integration of the wood with the wine, a wine that is juicier and rounder, a more hedonistic vintage. It has maybe 1% Garnacha, up to 6% in some lots, picked quite early, or "very green," according to winemaker Gonzalo Iturriaga. The wine has contained ripeness and 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.78 and 4.75 grams of acidity. This is the first year when 100% of the yeasts were wild, and they aged the wine in barrels, only 5% American and 30% used, for 10 months, and 25% in stainless steel. The wine shows the warmth and ripeness of the year, especially when compared with the 2021 Macán I tasted next to it, but the results are much better than expected, the nose is harmonious, the palate balanced and the tannins very fine. Overall, it's a triumph over the adverse conditions of the year. A total of 236,067 bottles, 2,110 magnums and some larger formats were produced. It was bottled in June 2024.