Vega Sicilia - Valbuena

94 Points - The Wine Advocate

"Cropped from an unusually cold and rainy vintage in which they will not bottle Único, the 2013 Valbuena is always released in its fifth year. It's mostly Tempranillo with 5% Merlot that was put through a three- to four-day cold soak in the oak vats, where it fermented with indigenous yeasts and was pumped over. It matured in new and used 225-liter French and American oak barriques and also in 20,000-liter oak vats, where the larger vessels respect the fruit, especially in a more fragile vintage like 2013. It's a very elegant and fresh Valbuena with a developed nose, quite classical with a fine texture, elegant tannins and a supple, long finish where the oak is still quite obvious." Robert Parker

Onshore Cellars - ICONIC Producer

Known as a mythical winery, and regarded as Spain’s one and only ‘first growth’, Vega Sicilia is Spain’s most prestigious wine estate located in Ribera del Duero. Founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda who came from Bordeaux armed with cuttings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec and planted them with Spain’s signature grape, Tempranillo.

The winery changed hands several times beforethe current owners, the Alvarez family, took over in 1982. Over the years, Vega Sicilia has built an international and formidable reputation for itself.

Vega Sicilia has founded its success on meticulous wine producing practices. The winery’s philosophy incorporates low yields, painstaking grape selection and prolonged barrel ageing (1970 Unico has over 16 years). The resulting wines are delicate and complex, with great personality and which have a capacity for ageing which can only be matched by some of the greats from Bordeaux.