Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This dark garnet colored wine has a nose of black cherry, aniseed and vanilla. It is a touch spicy at firs sip, offering notes of clove and eucalyptus that are followed by flavors of blackberry, ripe summer cherry, milk chocolate and orange zest. Lush tannins coat the palate and dissolve, leaving traces of orange zest and cherry pie behind.
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James Suckling
Attractive aromas of cloves with blackberries, blueberries, cedar and hints of chocolate. It’s full- to medium-bodied with fine yet chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Sleek and muscular. Needs three to five years to soften but already impressive. Try after 2026.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2019 was a more concentrated and powerful year that was warmer and drier; it was saved by the 80 liters of rain in the first half of September, and they tried to select the higher-altitude vineyards to have more freshness. They reduced the amount of new barrique (55%) and increased the use of foudre (45%) for the élevage of the 2019 Macán. It fermented in stainless steel with 10% of their own yeasts. 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 wine is very powerful and dense, with a big structure and plenty of tannins. The oak is still noticeable in the aromatics. Give it some more time in bottle, and enjoy with powerful food.
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Vinous
The 2019 Macán from Rioja Alavesa has a mature feel with aromas of cedar, vanilla, dried flowers, field herbs, sour cherry and a light toastiness. The palate is rich and enveloping, with firm tannins and medium freshness, in which the oak provides a structural backbone. A slightly expectorant note features on the finish. This is a full, satisfying red defined by its red fruit profile and the character of a moderate vintage.
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Wine Spectator
A seamless, medium-bodied red, with a fluid grace to its delivery of ripe black plum, warm fig, dried lavender and thyme, vanilla and cocoa powder flavors as they ripple across the palate. Layered with fine, trim tannins, this focused and appealing version lingers on the finish, offering a hint of loamy earth. Drink now through 2035.
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.