2010 Unico, 2015 Valbuena, 2016 Alion, 2015 Pintia
It is Spain's most celebrated winery. Founded in the nineteenth century as an attempt to make Bordeaux-style wines in Spain, Vega Sicilia quickly acquired fame and an identity all its own making wine that is both quintessentially Spanish, and among the world's best. So what's the secret? First and foremost, great terroir. Then it's the Herculean amounts of care in the vineyard, in selection, and in the winery. All topped off with a big dose of experience, a no-expense-spared approach, and an enlightened attitude towards combining the best of traditional and modern practices.
This year's releases from Vega Sicilia happily capture a series of exceptional vintages from across the portfolio. At the head of the range, 2010 Unico is powerful, complex, and lifted, with melting tannins and a flavour profile that runs the gamut from red fruit and flowers to tobacco and spice. Everything went perfectly in 2010 for this structured yet exquisite wine; as the winery puts it, 'This vintage will go down in history'. Then Valbuena, which is produced from different plots to the Unico, and is a world-class wine in its own right. 2015 was hot and dry in Ribera del Duero, leading to ripe, concentrated wines; the 2015 Valbuena is intense and packed with spices and dark fruit, yet has a silky finesse in the mouth and a long, lingering finish.
Neighbouring Vega Sicilia, Alion enjoys an exceptional terroir all its own, and is managed autonomously. 2016 brought colder nights to the region and 2016 Alion has a delicious minty freshness to balance and counterpoint the ripe, fleshy fruit. Pintia comes from further down the Duero Valley, in the region of Toro. Thanks to the more extreme climate here, it has always been powerful, but over the last few vintages it has acquired more and more of the hallmark Vega Sicilia elegance; the sweet, succulent red fruit in the 2015 enjoys finer tannins than ever, and is a beautifully textured wine. /NT
Offered subject to confirmation; available Autumn 2020
