Vega Sicilia dinner with Pablo Alvarez (Monterey Restaurant, New York): A gorgeous wine. Noticeable Merlot hints despite the fact it only makes uo a small fraction (5%) of the blend. Much more complex and "barnyard" than the 2018 paired alongside. Brooding stewed prunes and beautiful silky tannins. Vega Sicilia dinner with Pablo Alvarez
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Had this as part of a Vega Sicilia Lunch in Hong Kong. The v5 had deep garnet color and complex bouquet of dark fruit, spice, leather, vanilla, and oak. The palate is full-bodied and rich. I thought that it was creamy and more custardy compared which we had side by side to the VS Unico 2011. Flavors of plum, black cherry, cassis, chocolate, and tobacco. Long and satisfying. Excellent balance of tannins, acidity, and fruit flavors. I really enjoyed this wine and thought that it was excellent. Unfortunately, next to Unico I thought this wine was less sophisticated, less complex, not as elegant, and just not as smooth. The mouthfeel wasn’t as silky. Something to consider: the host only opened these 2 hours before the event… both wines would definitely benefit from more breathing. 2017 was a difficult year … frost then drought, and also significantly young at this point. An excellent wine and I would happily drink more!
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Medium (+) Acidity Medium Tannin HIgh Alcohol Medium (+) Bodied Medium (+) Finish
Medium (+) Intensity - Black Cherry, Black Plum, Figs, Blackberry, Vanilla, Cloves, Cinnamon, Tobacco, Smoke, Chocolate, Cedar
Ripe black fruits, sweet spice, smoke, oak. Concentrated and intense, with sharp acidity and silky tannins. Needs a bit of breathing before opening up, but just a bit, like 30 to 45 minutes, this wine develops fast after opening. A decent Vega Sicilia which let you get a glimpse of what Unico can offer, but frankly speaking at this price, a Napa red seems like a better choice.
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Pronounced intensity on the nose with super rich and ripe fruit - blackcurrant, raspberry, blackberry, dark plum, licorice, all spice, cedar, and smoke
Palate - Pronounced intensity and dry. Medium acidity, high tannins, full body, amazing long evolving finish.
Amazing wine - excellent balance, persistent length, great intensity and complexity - drunk very young, would love the see how it evolves.
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Concentrated red and dark fruits with a pretty dense underlying structure. This is super young but quite balanced and good with fruit. A touch clunky but a lot better in a decade.
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I’m a big fan of Unico, so was dying to try this (slightly) more reasonably priced sibling. Has strong depth but lacks some of finesse of comparably priced wines, though in fairness it’s still very young. Exhibits a concentrated inky purple color with above average weight and viscosity. Not surprisingly, nose is all primary at this point with dark fruits, cassis, black currant, and tobacco. Some heat off the nose that blew off in short order. Palate is dense and chewy, with just the slightest hint of tannin lurking in the background and plenty of obvious oak treatment. Long finish, as you’d expect. Definitely very young at this point - I wouldn’t drink this for 5 years at least if not 10. But the lack of tannin worries me a bit, not sure if this is, say, a 20 year wine. Definitely would be a crowd pleaser though.
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Grilled edamame beans with sour cream , lovage and smoked egg yolk
Var borinn fram með nautafileinu. Ég var ekki yfir mig hrifinn af réttinum en Valbuena vínið var talsvert betra heldur en 2016 árgangurinn sem við fengum í smakkinu.
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12/8/2023 - LopedeAguirre Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great balance and power, not fresh but deep, a tiny hint of sherry, thus sweeter than sharp.
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11/24/2023 - mick978@gmail.com Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great wine. Drank next to 2017 Dominus and it didn’t quite match up but also didn’t get blown out of the water.
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10/30/2023 - Ulises759 Likes this wine: 85 Points
Solid wine.
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10/30/2023 - mick978@gmail.com Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent. Drank next to an Abreu 1997 and it showed second but held its own.
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8/11/2023 - mick978@gmail.com Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still so much life. Excellently balanced. Vega Sicilia remains undefeated
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7/17/2023 - nywine68 wrote: 95 Points
Vega Sicilia dinner with Pablo Alvarez (Monterey Restaurant, New York): A gorgeous wine. Noticeable Merlot hints despite the fact it only makes uo a small fraction (5%) of the blend. Much more complex and "barnyard" than the 2018 paired alongside. Brooding stewed prunes and beautiful silky tannins. Vega Sicilia dinner with Pablo Alvarez
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7/13/2023 - La Gola del Llop wrote:
Board
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5/22/2023 - AB16 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Liked this wine for its approachability vs unico which I find over oaked for the first 20+ years
Pretty, ripe fruit, bala blend tannins and good acid. Great food beverage Drinking well now, and should have another 10 more good years
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5/19/2023 - crumblemore Likes this wine: 92 Points
Had this as part of a Vega Sicilia Lunch in Hong Kong. The v5 had deep garnet color and complex bouquet of dark fruit, spice, leather, vanilla, and oak. The palate is full-bodied and rich. I thought that it was creamy and more custardy compared which we had side by side to the VS Unico 2011. Flavors of plum, black cherry, cassis, chocolate, and tobacco. Long and satisfying. Excellent balance of tannins, acidity, and fruit flavors. I really enjoyed this wine and thought that it was excellent. Unfortunately, next to Unico I thought this wine was less sophisticated, less complex, not as elegant, and just not as smooth. The mouthfeel wasn’t as silky. Something to consider: the host only opened these 2 hours before the event… both wines would definitely benefit from more breathing. 2017 was a difficult year … frost then drought, and also significantly young at this point. An excellent wine and I would happily drink more!
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5/14/2023 - Kevin Mak wrote: 92 Points
Deep Ruby
Medium (+) Acidity
Medium Tannin
HIgh Alcohol
Medium (+) Bodied
Medium (+) Finish
Medium (+) Intensity
- Black Cherry, Black Plum, Figs, Blackberry, Vanilla, Cloves, Cinnamon, Tobacco, Smoke, Chocolate, Cedar
Ripe black fruits, sweet spice, smoke, oak. Concentrated and intense, with sharp acidity and silky tannins. Needs a bit of breathing before opening up, but just a bit, like 30 to 45 minutes, this wine develops fast after opening. A decent Vega Sicilia which let you get a glimpse of what Unico can offer, but frankly speaking at this price, a Napa red seems like a better choice.
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11/29/2022 - Philip67 Likes this wine: 92 Points
High acidity but with reasonable fruit to cover. Will age but I doubt will improve. Good intensity.
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11/1/2022 - Irish_Wine wrote: 95 Points
Deep ruby.
Pronounced intensity on the nose with super rich and ripe fruit - blackcurrant, raspberry, blackberry, dark plum, licorice, all spice, cedar, and smoke
Palate - Pronounced intensity and dry. Medium acidity, high tannins, full body, amazing long evolving finish.
Amazing wine - excellent balance, persistent length, great intensity and complexity - drunk very young, would love the see how it evolves.
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8/15/2022 - rc@ughey wrote: 90 Points
Concentrated red and dark fruits with a pretty dense underlying structure. This is super young but quite balanced and good with fruit. A touch clunky but a lot better in a decade.
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6/10/2022 - hrazdiiv Likes this wine: 91 Points
I’m a big fan of Unico, so was dying to try this (slightly) more reasonably priced sibling. Has strong depth but lacks some of finesse of comparably priced wines, though in fairness it’s still very young. Exhibits a concentrated inky purple color with above average weight and viscosity. Not surprisingly, nose is all primary at this point with dark fruits, cassis, black currant, and tobacco. Some heat off the nose that blew off in short order. Palate is dense and chewy, with just the slightest hint of tannin lurking in the background and plenty of obvious oak treatment. Long finish, as you’d expect. Definitely very young at this point - I wouldn’t drink this for 5 years at least if not 10. But the lack of tannin worries me a bit, not sure if this is, say, a 20 year wine. Definitely would be a crowd pleaser though.
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4/26/2022 - bitdrerik wrote:
Vega Sicilia smakk og kvöldverður á Hótel Edition (Hótel Edition): Þessi réttur:
Grilled edamame beans with sour cream , lovage and smoked egg yolk
Var borinn fram með nautafileinu. Ég var ekki yfir mig hrifinn af réttinum en Valbuena vínið var talsvert betra heldur en 2016 árgangurinn sem við fengum í smakkinu.
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