Vega Sicilia Unico 1967 I was recently fortunate enough to check in on a wine which was made when LBJ was President, Harold Wilson was our PM, the Vietnam War was raging, and Jimi Hendrix was establishing himself as a global guitar tour de force. Despite this 250-year-old estate’s exceptional pedigree (few would argue that it stands alone in Spain as a First Growth equivalent), my expectations were modest given the age and less than optimal storage of this particular bottle. Well, I should have expected more of a wine with almost limitless potential. A classic left bank blend of cabernet and merlot but with the addition of Ribera del Douro’s fruity and figgy tempranillo and a dollop of plummy malbec, this old lady still delivers the goods. The wine presents a deep tawny colour with well-defined gradations and a hint of deep ruby within a still-dense core. It retains medium acidity and soft yet insistent medium- tannins, medium alcohol and, despite its age, medium + body. On the nose there is pronounced cooked cherry and blackberry, old rose, fig, cooked meat, mushroom, and tobacco. Befitting a wine with such carefully curated fermentation and wood ageing (at least 6 years in both French and American oak and a further 4 years in the bottle before release), there is ample evidence of chocolate and cigar box spice. Medium+ body supports a rich, layered, silky texture. To my surprise, following a 30 minute decant and an hour of drinking, the wine developed additional complexity and intensity in the glass. The 1967 Vega Sicila is of outstanding quality and a rare pleasure to drink. Acidity and smooth tannins are sufficient to complement and enhance the rich, smooth texture and medium+ body. A wide range of fully-developed secondary and tertiary aromas and flavours persist on a long, satisfying finish. Legend has it that the wine is named after St Cecilia, the patron saint of music. No wonder this wine continues, after 56 years, to deliver a symphony of sensual experience and drinking pleasure!
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Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red center with light orange rims. The medium intensity nose generated super ripe plum, tan spice, cherry, and mineral notes.
In the mouth, this wine was medium bodied with light rounded tannin and firm acidity. It developed well with air to be a bit more dramatic and complex.
This appeared to be at its peak but would certainly last another 10 years.
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„Benjamin Button or The longer the tasting went on, the younger it got“ Setting: one bottle in Düsseldorf, one in Berlin, two friends connected by Teams Both bottles top shoulder in perfect condition, cork in very good condition. Colour: red to orange, as expected Drinking lasted 3 h, bottles were opened at the same time and decanted. Phases: dominant :first tar/tobacco, then chamomile, then strawberry, then raisins, towards the end fresh red and dark fruit and tannins. Quite an incredible journey, unexpected, delicious from start to finish. Will certainly be at its peak for the next 15 years.
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Opened and decanted and just kept getting better and better in the glass. It starts a bit musty but then with air darker black fruits and more spices and drinking nicely.
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This is getting to that point where the wine is almost porty-style. Tastes a bit like raisins. A touch oxidized. It's not the perfect bottle, but it's a durable wine and still drinks quite nicely even if not quite 'on'.
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Significantly older than the 66 on the side and the color is also more muddy. Nose is plummy with metal, blood, sous bois, and mushroom. Palate has a lot of secondary character. Based on this bottles condition, it should be consumed asap as it is a bit past its prime. It evolves throughout the evening.
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In spite of its age still a ton of red fruit leaping out of the glass. Attractive notes of red berry, cherry, raspberry along with earth and fleshy notes. Some charcoal and ask on the palate. Highly complex and nuanced. Fantastic showing.
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Flat red fruit, thinner overall palate and an unbalanced finished. Light saline notes on the nose. Some attractive elements here but this bottle was not particularly well coordinated. Others liked this more than me.
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Unico tasting (27 different vintages) at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival 2017: a clear ruby colour; bready smell with a hint of thyme; cherry in the mouth; medium body and a high but well integrated acidity.
For me this wine was the flight winner (64, 65, 66, 67, 69).
Vintages 2nd flight: 1964-1965-1966-1967-1969
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Consumed as the last wine of a tasting, these last in geological terms so this was drinking well, still fruity, cherries, blood and underlying metallic tones. This probably should have been the first wine of the tasting.
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Black and white pepper highlighted a nose with hints of damp soil, dark fruit and violets. Robust front and mid palate lost a little by the backpalate. Palate started to fade after 1.5 hours.
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Nice garnet color , at the beginning brett but with time also spices , little madeira , on the palate is great to find a so vivid acidity , gentle and elegance , smooth with long finish.
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What a shame. I can see how this wine would have been great, but unfortunately the cork had given up the ghost and the wine was slightly oxidized. The color was nice; a deep brick red, but on the nose the first impression, unforunately, was "sherry". Concentrating a little more you could find remnants of cherries and vanilla, hinting at what might have been. On the palate there was some vanilla and some caramel along with strong oak and a rather old and musty finish. This wine was bottled on the same year I was born and I had high expectations- Hopefully I'm aging better than it did!
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Opaque, very-very deep brown colour with some garnet hues and yellowy at the rim. Like a PX sherry in sight and very similar aromatically: ink, dark and brooding stewed fruit, oxidative notes, molasses. Full bodied with sweet and supple velvety texture and tannins fully resolved. Intensely flavorful on the palate with aromas of ground coffee, walnuts, dried fruit, molasses and a very long rich, sweet and nutty finish. The wine of course is dry and incredibly vibrant at 43 years of age. At youth this must have been a monster! Remarkably similar in all aspects but sweetness (...and viscosity) to a PX.
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bricking around rim and edges, garnet color.porty smell on nose, in mouth sweet fruit, balance still intact, warm in mouth, mouth filling...liked very much
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4/7/2024 - BottomsUp 57 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Vega Sicilia Unico 1967
I was recently fortunate enough to check in on a wine which was made when LBJ was President, Harold Wilson was our PM, the Vietnam War was raging, and Jimi Hendrix was establishing himself as a global guitar tour de force. Despite this 250-year-old estate’s exceptional pedigree (few would argue that it stands alone in Spain as a First Growth equivalent), my expectations were modest given the age and less than optimal storage of this particular bottle. Well, I should have expected more of a wine with almost limitless potential. A classic left bank blend of cabernet and merlot but with the addition of Ribera del Douro’s fruity and figgy tempranillo and a dollop of plummy malbec, this old lady still delivers the goods.
The wine presents a deep tawny colour with well-defined gradations and a hint of deep ruby within a still-dense core. It retains medium acidity and soft yet insistent medium- tannins, medium alcohol and, despite its age, medium + body. On the nose there is pronounced cooked cherry and blackberry, old rose, fig, cooked meat, mushroom, and tobacco. Befitting a wine with such carefully curated fermentation and wood ageing (at least 6 years in both French and American oak and a further 4 years in the bottle before release), there is ample evidence of chocolate and cigar box spice. Medium+ body supports a rich, layered, silky texture. To my surprise, following a 30 minute decant and an hour of drinking, the wine developed additional complexity and intensity in the glass.
The 1967 Vega Sicila is of outstanding quality and a rare pleasure to drink. Acidity and smooth tannins are sufficient to complement and enhance the rich, smooth texture and medium+ body. A wide range of fully-developed secondary and tertiary aromas and flavours persist on a long, satisfying finish.
Legend has it that the wine is named after St Cecilia, the patron saint of music. No wonder this wine continues, after 56 years, to deliver a symphony of sensual experience and drinking pleasure!
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12/30/2022 - alhun wrote: 90 Points
amazingly health
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8/1/2022 - fclarity wrote: 95 Points
Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red center with light orange rims. The medium intensity nose generated super ripe plum, tan spice, cherry, and mineral notes.
In the mouth, this wine was medium bodied with light rounded tannin and firm acidity. It developed well with air to be a bit more dramatic and complex.
This appeared to be at its peak but would certainly last another 10 years.
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4/26/2022 - RayOB wrote: flawed
Sadly dead and gone
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6/7/2021 - ackerstube Likes this wine: 95 Points
„Benjamin Button or The longer the tasting went on, the younger it got“
Setting: one bottle in Düsseldorf, one in Berlin, two friends connected by Teams
Both bottles top shoulder in perfect condition, cork in very good condition. Colour: red to orange, as expected
Drinking lasted 3 h, bottles were opened at the same time and decanted.
Phases: dominant :first tar/tobacco, then chamomile, then strawberry, then raisins, towards the end fresh red and dark fruit and tannins.
Quite an incredible journey, unexpected, delicious from start to finish.
Will certainly be at its peak for the next 15 years.
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10/17/2020 - Lype Likes this wine:
Tar, strawberries, jammy fruit, light bodied and fragrant, attractive and drinking very well now, I do not see this getting better.
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6/26/2020 - G_H wrote: 95 Points
Farnsburg best bottle: Camomile, cold coffee, chocolate pralines, tobacco, healthy acidity, ripe and soft.
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1/18/2020 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Opened and decanted and just kept getting better and better in the glass. It starts a bit musty but then with air darker black fruits and more spices and drinking nicely.
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12/12/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
This is getting to that point where the wine is almost porty-style. Tastes a bit like raisins. A touch oxidized. It's not the perfect bottle, but it's a durable wine and still drinks quite nicely even if not quite 'on'.
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6/28/2018 - RayOB Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank at 67
Thanks Donal. An incredible intense beautiful profound wine with a length that doesn't stop, Yummy.
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10/25/2017 - Burgnick wrote: 91 Points
Significantly older than the 66 on the side and the color is also more muddy. Nose is plummy with metal, blood, sous bois, and mushroom. Palate has a lot of secondary character. Based on this bottles condition, it should be consumed asap as it is a bit past its prime. It evolves throughout the evening.
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8/30/2017 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 94 Points
In spite of its age still a ton of red fruit leaping out of the glass. Attractive notes of red berry, cherry, raspberry along with earth and fleshy notes. Some charcoal and ask on the palate. Highly complex and nuanced. Fantastic showing.
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8/29/2017 - tinybubbles wrote: 91 Points
Flat red fruit, thinner overall palate and an unbalanced finished. Light saline notes on the nose. Some attractive elements here but this bottle was not particularly well coordinated. Others liked this more than me.
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2/24/2017 - Fatty Cat Likes this wine: 91 Points
Unico tasting (27 different vintages) at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival 2017: a clear ruby colour; bready smell with a hint of thyme; cherry in the mouth; medium body and a high but well integrated acidity.
For me this wine was the flight winner (64, 65, 66, 67, 69).
Vintages 2nd flight: 1964-1965-1966-1967-1969
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2/15/2017 - Lype Likes this wine:
Consumed as the last wine of a tasting, these last in geological terms so this was drinking well, still fruity, cherries, blood and underlying metallic tones. This probably should have been the first wine of the tasting.
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12/2/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 92 Points
A darker bottle than some. Dark fruit, licorice, cedar and woodsmoke. Surprisingly good acid, and a background stoniness.
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11/11/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 93 Points
Black and white pepper highlighted a nose with hints of damp soil, dark fruit and violets. Robust front and mid palate lost a little by the backpalate. Palate started to fade after 1.5 hours.
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10/5/2015 - reichken wrote:
past it
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3/6/2014 - d'Auvenay wrote: 93 Points
Wine opened in 1+ hrs and lasted 3+ hrs. Still quite fresh. Can consume now, but also can last for another 3-5 yrs.
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5/20/2013 - Gian wrote: 94 Points
Nice garnet color , at the beginning brett but with time also spices , little madeira , on the palate is great to find a so vivid acidity , gentle and elegance , smooth with long finish.
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2/1/2013 - Corgi wrote: 94 Points
Elegant. Hazelnut and herbs. Fully mature, aged nose.
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12/18/2012 - LFCHALA Likes this wine: 93 Points
A Vega Sicilia 45 years of age and exceptional. The effect of fruit and acidity are reduced, but the aromas .... When given the opportunity, drink.
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9/16/2011 - LWI wrote: 94 Points
Districts and Producers in Spain (My House): Lovely balance, long and spicy, an acid nerve that carries the wine, elegant. Alas, fades off in about 20 min.
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12/10/2010 - Sailquik wrote: flawed
What a shame. I can see how this wine would have been great, but unfortunately the cork had given up the ghost and the wine was slightly oxidized. The color was nice; a deep brick red, but on the nose the first impression, unforunately, was "sherry". Concentrating a little more you could find remnants of cherries and vanilla, hinting at what might have been. On the palate there was some vanilla and some caramel along with strong oak and a rather old and musty finish. This wine was bottled on the same year I was born and I had high expectations- Hopefully I'm aging better than it did!
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11/3/2010 - Stefanos T. Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opaque, very-very deep brown colour with some garnet hues and yellowy at the rim. Like a PX sherry in sight and very similar aromatically: ink, dark and brooding stewed fruit, oxidative notes, molasses.
Full bodied with sweet and supple velvety texture and tannins fully resolved. Intensely flavorful on the palate with aromas of ground coffee, walnuts, dried fruit, molasses and a very long rich, sweet and nutty finish.
The wine of course is dry and incredibly vibrant at 43 years of age. At youth this must have been a monster!
Remarkably similar in all aspects but sweetness (...and viscosity) to a PX.
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10/21/2009 - Rupert wrote: 91 Points
Thirty vintages of Vega Sicilia Único 1953-1999; 10/20/2009-10/21/2009 (Institute of Directors, London): Old wood and whisky nose, but the palate was all pure cherry fruit. Tannic, but fine.
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9/1/2007 - reichken wrote: 90 Points
bricking around rim and edges, garnet color.porty smell on nose, in mouth sweet fruit, balance still intact, warm in mouth, mouth filling...liked very much
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