An old grape of the Ebro valley and Catalonia, Macabeo leads a double life under two names. As Viura it is the white grape of Rioja, in every register from fresh, unoaked styles to the long-oaked golden whites of the traditional houses — wines aged for years in American oak until apple turns to hay, almond and polished wood.
As Macabeo it anchors cava, the steady first voice of the classic trio it forms with Xarel·lo and Parellada. Its virtues are quiet ones: discreet, appley fruit, gentle acidity, and a late budbreak that lets it shrug off the spring frosts of the high Ebro — the trait that endeared it to generations of growers and made it the unassuming major white grape of northern Spain.