At Sierra Cantabria or the Riojans people are always looking for real and pure wines that express their origins, landscape, culture, tradition, ancestors, family and personal experiences. All these qualities come together in this wine, Sierra Cantabria Mágico. The Sierra Cantabria Mágico comes from a small vineyard: El Vardallo (also known as Las Sepulturas) of only 1.18 hectares, located in San Vicente de la Sonsierra.

It is a vineyard that has been spared from the phylloxera crisis at the beginning of the 20th century and some canes are more than 150 years old and as usual at that time there was a wide range of varieties on 1 vineyard (you) red as white. Among the red wines are 65% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache, 2.5% Graciano, 1% Petit Bouschet and 1.1%, others; among the white varieties is 4.4% Calagraño, 3.2% Turruntés (Rioja) and 2.8% Viura (Macabeo).

2010 was an exceptional year and a year in which all grape varieties were optimal, so from this point of view the Magico was created by combining all varieties into a top wine with a truly extraordinary expression of a unique authentic vineyard. This wine is only made in the top years and is packed in a beautiful case.

The Magico is produced according to very traditional Rioja winemaking techniques. The vineyard is completely manually worked and plowed with horse. The Eguren family uses biodynamic techniques to ensure sustainability and maintenance of microbiome in the soil. The vineyards are naturally fertilized every two years. The bottom of the vineyard consists of sandy loam soil with little organic material and in the subsurface there is a cap of iron and lime-rich clay, which is crucial for water retention. The parent rock is also present at the same depth. The climbing map is continental with Atlantic influences that are moderated by the Sierra Cantabria mountains

All grape varieties are all stalked by hand and sorted rigorously. All varieties except the Garnacha were lightly bruised and macerated in small wooden barrels. The Garnacha was fermented and macerated separately in a wooden barrel. The maceration lasted 21 days for the compound varieties and 15 days for the Garnacha. Malolactic fermentation in new French oak barriques. The compressed varieties underwent malolactic in one 500 L and four 225 L barrels. The Garnacha underwent malolactic in a 500 liter barrel.

Sierra Cantabria Mágico represents the wish of the Eguren family to produce a superior wine from Rioja as they do with their Teso La Monja. Because of their long history with incredible single vineyard wines, they felt that it was a challenge to keep improving and saw that surpassing that quality was possible when they discovered the vineyard of El Vardallo. Vineyards that are so old simply no longer exist in Rioja, and the qualities are innumerable. The grape mix is an incredible wealth of authentic varieties, which add character and complexity to the final wine.

You know: Cult wines are used to rot a lot nowadays, so certainly with this wine. We are the official importer and you can check on the website of Sierra Cantabria whether you have an official bottle provided by an importer. You can be sure that you do not have a counterfeit or refilled bottle by mistake. You can do this at: http://www.sierracantabria.com/en/wineries/vinedos-sierra-cantabria/sierra-cantabria-magico/

The Magico from Sierra Cantabria has a fresh cherry color in the glass. In the nose the Magico has beautiful notes of blueberry, tobacco, cedar wood, cherry and mineral and toasty undertones. In the mouth, the Magico red wine is very intense, super elegant, complex with silky tannins. The wine has beautiful smoky tones due to the new French oak Velvety soft on the palate. Excellent balance between the acids and the ripe tannin with a very long finish. The wine has received unanimous great evaluation. This is a collector's item.

Tim Atkins: 96/100
Tanzer: 96/100
Jeb Dunnuck: 99/100
Guia Proensa: 99/100
James Suckling: 93/100

Fact: Hermanos Euguren has been named the best winemaker of the year 2012 by the American wine magazine Wine Enthusiast.