Macán 2015

The current vintage of the first wine is the 2015 Macán, fermented in oak vats and matured in new French oak barrels for 12 months, followed by a further five months in oak vats and kept in bottle for almost three years before it's released. 2015 was a warm and dry year, and the wine feels riper when tasted next to the 2016 Macán Clásico, which comes from a very different year. The use of foudres helps to give the wine length and elegance—a good tool to fine-tune warmer vintages like this one. This is stylistically different from 2016, with darker fruit and an earthy touch. It's powerful, with structure and plenty of tannin, a dense wine, with concentration to get polished in bottle. 74,465 bottle, 2,563 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in May 2017

 A dense red that is agile and energetic with gorgeous blackberry, dark chocolate and hints of cedar. Notes of spice and toasted chocolate. Full to medium body, very long and polished textures. A classic Rioja with a touch of modernity. Drink or hold.

The first vintage to be vinified partly in new winery, and also the first vintage to be made entirely by winemaker Gonzalo Iturriaga de Juan, replacing Xavier Ausàs (at Vega Sicilia also). And just to continue with the changes, this was also the point at which they introduced large 4,000l wooden vats for the final three months of ageing, after 12 months in 225l barrels. The idea was to work on the texture while minimising the oak influence. In terms of vintage, this is similar to the 2010, so a rich style of wine, concentrated with white pepper spice, but also juicy and gourmet and extremely enjoyable. This is too young right now, still needs a few years in bottle but it is a great wine with energy and freshness, and brilliantly showcases what Macán is becoming. Drinking Window 2022 - 2042