Vega Sicilia Único 2013

The superlative Vega Sicilia Único was, for many years, one of the very few Spanish reds which deserved to be mentioned in the same sentence with names such as Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Château Mouton-Rothschild or Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino.

Located in the heart of DO Ribera del Duero, between 700 and 900 of altitude, the Finca Vega Sicilia estate has 210 hectares under vine, divided into 64 parcels with 19 different soil types. The red wine Único is produced from grapes sourced from the best 40 hectares of that world-class terroir.

This remarkable red wine from Ribera del Duero is essentially a varietal Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), nuanced with a 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, coming from vines 33 years old on average. As for vintage characteristics, 2013 was a cool and fresh year, with higher than average temperature differences between daytime and nighttime all along the ripening season, as well as abundant rainfall during harvest time.

The grapes were picked by hand in 12 kg boxes from September 27 to October 17. Once in the cellar, they were cold macerated for some days before fermenting with indigenous yeasts in wooden vats. After that, the red wine Vega Sicilia Único 2013 began a very long ageing process, which went on for 10 years minimum.

First, this Gran Reserva red wine was matured in 225-litre French and American oak barrels, to define the rough countour of the wine. The proces was afterwards fine-tuned in 22,000-litre oak vats, in which the wine was kept until it was bottled in June 2019.

Subsequently, the legendary Único from Bodegas Vega Sicilia was aged for another 5 years in the bottle, at the end of which period it was finally ready to hit the market.

Decant 2 hours before drinking, at the very least.

76,476 Bordeaux bottles and 3,658 magnums produced.