Vega Sicilia Unico, Ribera del Duero Reserva Especial Red 2022
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98
Wine Advocate
The NV Único Reserva Especial 2022 Release is a blend of wines from 2008, 2010 and 2011, mostly Tinto Fino with some Cabernet Sauvignon mixing lots from the Único wines from those years. In the past, the blend was older vintages, but now it’s wines that are around the same age as the Único. It has the complexity of mixing terroirs, vintages and grapes with parameters very similar to Único, 14.5% alcohol and good balance with a pH of 3.83 and 5.4 grams of acidity (measured in tartaric acid per liter). In the blend, they look for keeping the style of past blends, combining the more aged notes of the older wines and the freshness of the younger ones. I was very pleasantly surprised by the performance of this Reserva Especial, which seems to be going back to the character of the blends from yesteryear, with more finesse, elegance and nuance. This is perfumed, elegant, harmonious and balanced. It has very fine, already polished tannins and integrated acidity. 2008 and 2010 are cooler years, and they seem to give the blend this freshness and elegance. It has all the components, and especially the balance between all of them, to age nicely in bottle. 16,961 bottles and 201 magnums were filled in June 2018.
The Unico Reserva Seleccion Especial has become a cult, and no wonder. As Pablo Alvarez says: ‘It’s the most Vega Sicilia of them all.’ The 2022 release, a blend of the complexity of 2008, the structure of 2010 and the freshness of 2011 is far more than the sum of its parts. Floral with red apples and roses on the nose. In the mouth a firm grip, juicy, textured, a wine that is comfortably settled into itself. Not a very technical tasting note perhaps, but accurate: thoroughly enjoyable.
Deep violet-red in the glass, this wine has aromas of black cherry and violet with a hint of mocha. It is soft at first sip, and then luxurious tannins slowly build in volume alongside blackberry, raspberry, butterscotch, cocoa powder and aniseed flavors that glide in to a rewarding finish, a shimmering note of acidity lingers on the palate.
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Vega Sicilia Unico, Ribera del Duero Reserva Especial Red 2023
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99
James Suckling
Extremely nuanced and complex nose that shows high-grade cigar box and cigars, fresh blackberries, orange peel, together with red-chili chocolate, walnut, iron and hints of cocoa powder. This is intense, elegant and savory with real finesse, savoriness and complexity. Juicy, dusty and immaculate tannins and an extremely long, savory finish that lasts over a minute. Mainly a blend of 2009 and 2011 and 2012. Surprisingly, this is already approachable now, but better after 2024.
The NV Único Reserva Especial 2023 Release is a blend produced with vintages 2009, 2011 and 2012, in search of a house style. It’s a blend of Tinto Fino with some Cabernet Sauvignon with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.85 and 5.2 grams of acidity (measured in tartaric acid per liter of wine); so, it’s a slightly lighter version of Reserva Especial. When in theory they used three warm, ripe and powerful vintages, the blend is not excessively powerful, but the longer élevage has polished that power and delivered a classical and proportioned wine, aromatic, spicy, with the Vega nose and a velvety palate with very fine tannins and great elegance. 18,318 bottles and 233 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2019.
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Vega Sicilia Unico, Ribera del Duero Reserva Especial Red 2024
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98
Wine Advocate
The NV Único Reserva Especial 2024 Release was produced with a blend of wines from 2010, 2011 and 2012, not that far from the previous release, which was from 2009, 2011 and 2012, as they are slowly trying to increase the average age of the wine. As I’ve seen in the last few years, they look for a house style from yesteryear, combining more developed characteristics with elegance and freshness. This blend of Tinto Fino with some Cabernet Sauvignon is also lower in alcohol, 14%, with a pH of 3.85 and 5.1 grams of acidity. The color denotes some evolution with a faint orange around the rim. The nose is complex and elegant, a more developed version of the 2014 Único that I tasted next to it, with truffle, forest floor, ripe black fruit, sweet spices, leather and meat. The palate feels quite polished, with a superb texture, sleek and elegant, with very fine tannins, subtle bitterness and a long and lingering taste. This is a superb blending exercise. 18,288 bottles and 272 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2020.
This graceful red shows lovely interplay between sweet and savory notes, layering black cherry compote, dark chocolate, dried raspberry, spiced orange peel and vanilla flavors, with hints of loamy earth, leather, smoke and wild scrub. Offers focus and structure as well as a sense of equilibrium, with dense tannins swathed in a plush texture and softly juicy orange peel acidity carrying the flavors through the expansive finish. A blend of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 vintages. Tinto Fino and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2040. 1,569 cases made, 131 cases imported.
Dried rose petals, sandalwood, cloves, balsamico, leather, and dried flowers. Dark fruits. Medium to full body. It’s tight and structured with a racy and intense finish. Tight at the end. A blend of mostly 2010, 2011 and 2012 of Unico. Then ten years of aging in wood and four years in bottle. Bottled in June 2019. Drink or hold.
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