Vega Sicilia New Releases – True Spanish Icons

Today sees the latest release from Spain’s most collectible and iconic producer – Vega Sicilia. We are very pleased to be able to offer the phenomenal new Unico 2016, Valbuena 2021 and Alion 2022.

Unico is the flagship wine of this legendary estate. It is fashioned from the best grapes in the finest parcels of their 210ha of vineyards, boasting 19 different soil types. Unico, literally meaning “unique”, has one of the longest élevage periods of any wine, at a staggering ten years between vintage and release, in a combination of French and American 225L oak barrels and 20,000 litre wooden vats. The 2016 spent five years in wood and five years in bottle before release. Time has proven 2016 a very fine vintage in Ribera del Duero, as it has in many of the classic European wine regions. It followed the ideal path of a cold, wet spring, hot summer, and cool harvest period, which concluded on 11th October. This laid the foundations for a refined and ethereal Unico, the likes of which we have not seen in recent years.

We sadly have not yet tasted the wine, but Technical Director Gonzalo Iturriaga de Juan describes the 2016 Unico as having all the fruit character you would expect, with a distinctive florality that marks 2016 as an especially elegant expression. As arguably Spain’s most famous and collectible brand, it is routinely grand-scaled, complex and immensely ageworthy. A vintage you won’t want to miss out on.

Stylistically, this is a tertiary wine, yet far from fading. Notes of black tea, leather and earth appear with remarkable purity and precision, framed by hints of cedar and a graceful aromatic lift. The palate is unexpectedly delicate, showing integrated and delicate tannins with subtle spice – touches of clove and sandalwood – adding nuance. While 2014 and 2015 were warm years, 2016 was not cool but was certainly less warm, resulting in a wine that is slightly less concentrated, more refined and with a thread of primary brightness still intact. Shades of black cherry and cassis mingle with a distinctive pine-forest freshness, and the oak – expertly integrated – acts in a supporting role. It feels like a quiet evolution for Único: less overtly oaky, more transparent, and carrying a sense of purity that elevates the estate’s signature character rather than shifting it. A wine capable of lighting up a dining room simply by crossing it on its way to a table – and one that will bring immense pride to collectors and admirers alike. – 18.5pts, Ferran Centelles, JancisRobinson.com

Where Unico requires time and patience, Valbuena’s purity and exuberance shines in youth, with luxurious cocoa-nib, light-toast, red fruits, spice and fluidity. Released after five years as opposed to Unico’s ten, Valbuena is an estate wine that is in many ways a baby-Unico. It rarely disappoints, especially not the stellar 2021 vintage, a year that Luis Gutierrez described as “a year to remember” and “one of the best in recent times”. Alion is blended from plots scattered across the Ribera del Duero valley and well represents the region at large. It continues to benefit from the move towards larger oak foudrés for ageing, resulting in a more elegant style.