Macán

Macán was born in 2004 from the alliance between Tempos Vega Sicilia, owned by the Álvarez family, and the house of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, chaired by Benjamin de Rothschild. Pablo Álvarez had spent two years studying Rioja before deciding, and over the next five the partners bought vineyards discreetly, through third parties, until the estate was assembled.

The first vintage of Macán and Macán Clásico was 2009, and the first bottles reached the market in 2013. Between those two dates the holding grew from 45 to 70 hectares; today the vineyard is spread across San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Labastida, Ábalos, Navaridas and Elvillar, on both sides of the boundary between La Rioja and Álava, on limestone soils.

The Samaniego winery, three buildings with over 9,000 square metres built on a five-hectare plot, cost 22 million euros: works ended in October 2016 and King Juan Carlos I opened it in June 2017, with capacity for 350,000 bottles a year. That same year Benjamin de Rothschild bought the Palacio de Samaniego for 806,000 euros to join wine tourism to the winery. He died in January 2021, aged 57.

Macán Clásico is Tempranillo with Garnacha, hand-picked into twelve-kilo crates, with twelve months in barrel and eighteen in bottle before release.