Surprisingly short cork for such a high quality/high-price wine... Very dark color, impenetrable in the center, garnet at the rim - definitively belying the wine's age.. Powerful bouquet of leather, leather dust and "sweaty saddle" coupled with sweetish notes of dried prunes, also underlying tannins. There is also a touch of "morbidezza" on the nose. On the palate it is very round with firm and ample mouthfeel and good finish. A solid wine, but to me, not extraordinary. Nor would I pay today's market price for it. My wife liked it a lot.
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Second bottle after 2 years also excellent, open 5 hours before dinner, burst of sweetness on the nose. Fully resolved very clean velvet elegant and long. Berries garden which makes you want to drink again and again. Can finish a bottle alone. Many years to go!
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SS's 40th at Les Amis. This was, by far, the most impressive of the trio of 1975s drank side by side. Dark red, bright, vibrant and absolutely primary in appearance. Intense perfume of red roses, violets, wild raspberries, Asian spice, sandalwood and mocha. Such a complex nose! Good structure on the palate, sweet tannins, great balance of acidity, power, fruit and elegance. Raspberries, red kiwis, chocolate, leather, plums, mocha, truffle and earth. This wine developed continuously over the course of 3 hours, without showing any signs of fading. Remarkably similar in terms of character profile to the 1962 a year ago at a similar celebration, with the 1962 perhaps just edging this in terms of length and complexity.
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Wow after 40 years this is finally ready to drink. Dark red in color, ready to drink but still youthful to smell or drink. Dark ripe fruit with some tar, leather and spices. Palate got a lot of weight and depth, ripe yet with good acidity lift at the back, very long finish.
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Decanted 2 1/2 hrs prior to the meal. Surprisingly little sediment with a crystal clear dark ruby color. Initial leather and dark fruit softening with a bold, yet remarkably fine finish. I did not experience the astringency others have commented on until the final few sips easily another hour into the meal. After 40 years, 22 of them in my personal cellar, this wine still had the power and vigor one expects with subtle and delicate secondary and tertiary flavors which one hopes for. I suspect this vintage has at least another 10 good years.
Base neck/Top shoulder fill, with cork stained 1/2 way. Deanted 90 minutes and probalby hit its stride around the 2 hour mark. Brownish bricking red. This had notes of scorched earth, sweat, and creme brulee on the nose. Dark fruit on the palate, with some caramel and leather. As it gets more air, the tannins become a bit more astringent on the finish. Very good, maybe not as good as other scores would suggest, but very good. A-
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Controversial at the table due to some astringency on the finish which increased as the wine sat in the glass. But alternative sips yielded a beautiful, finely complex wine with wonderful smoky dark fruits along with truffles, roasted game and coffee notes. The finish is finely complex. This is a gorgeous Unico but the astringency is a concern going forward. Perhaps not the right food pairing?
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Reasonable nose with strong pepper on the nose and red fruit notes. A surprisingly weak palate with an astringent finish. I liked this less than others primarily due to the harshness of the finish. Given the higher opinion of some others, deserving of additional chances to account for the potential of bottle condition or food pairing skewing this evening's performance.
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Oxygenated slowly in bottle for five hours and decanted right before drinking to separate any sediments. An opaque wine exhibiting a dark core and visible age on the rim due to the brick red hue. Intense yet elegant earthy aromas followed by cherries, plums, licorice, kirsch, sweaty horse saddle, balsam wood, roasted meats, cloves, star anise, with hints of black pepper. Very full on the palate with sour cherries, sweet red berries on the attack with a complex mid palate full of plums, blackberries, orange peel, currants, dark chocolate, coffee, loam, roasted meat juices, and intense refreshing acidity that continues into the long lasting yet discrete finish. Here interesting flavors of roasted meats juices, oriental spices, a slight touch of vanilla appear along with fully integrated silky tannins. A classic mid to full bodied Ribera del Duero where taste is second to its structural form, it feels big but has elegant and discrete flavors, amazing how after 39 years this wine is still fresh yet full of tertiary aromas and flavors.
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Relaxed dinner with old wine/anesthesia mentor (Reno, NV): This guy was youthful in appearance and aromatically very intense with loads of dark fruits (cassis, dark cherry, prunes), loads of coconut and licorice from barrique use, and plenty of mossy minerality. On the palate the wine takes it up a notch with loads of acidity, a lush midpalate, and a moderately firm and focused finish that had loads and loads of length. The wine was drinking quite well day 2 showing no signs of fatigue. "Extraordinary" wine, especially on the palate, with the stylistic caveat that it is lavishly oaked.
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Not decanted. Still going very strong. Complex nose of dark, plush, still fresh fruit, leather, earth, tobacco, mocha, spice. Palate enters with soft deeply expressive fruit that is framed/lifted with acidity lightly dosed with mineral. The overall texture is very pleasing, adding to the play of young vs age against each other. Great finesse and complexity.
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Wino Guys Weekend (WGW) #3; 9/11/2009-9/12/2009: From magnum; not decanted. Light-medium burgundy colour. Interesting, complex nose with smoke/hickory sticks, prune, tea, leather, dried cherries, and just a hint of tomato stem that was not unpleasant. Medium-bodied, nicely resolved tannins. Tomato stem, leather, earth, dried cherry and more on a layered, well-balanced, elegant palate presence. Long finish, ~40-45+s with leather, dried cherries. This was dynamite! Interesting in that it showed some characteristics of an Italian wine (bright acidity from Sangiovese) and others from Burgundy with the layers of dried fruit and earth. Very well done and was rock solid the next day also.
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Wine Guy Weekend Chez Doktas Take 3; 9/11/2009-9/13/2009 (Collingwood, Ontario): Wow. One of the most unique wines I've ever had the honour to taste. Unique flavour profile. I got tomatoes(or tomato sauce), black pepper, red peppers, and plums with spices on the nose and on the palate. Lovely texture and very velvety in the mouth. Lots of nice acidity for an almost 35 year old wine. I didn't think it was going to get better but this wine was built to last. Long long finish that was crying out for food. I believe Astrerix adroitly said it was a cross between an Italian and a French wine. (from Magnum)
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Spanish Dinner (Denver, CO): Opened for 2-3 hours before serving. Elected not to decant. Mature but fresh. Very delineated and complex, powerful but elegant from fresh-tasting cherry fruit to mineral finish.
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10/17/2023 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Vega Sicilia Unico Dinner with Pablo Alvarez (Asador Bastian - Chicago IL): 75/79/81 flight. Charming and so complete, still wonderfully fresh. Just clearly less depth than the 1981 in this same flight.
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10/17/2023 - Nanda wrote: 95 Points
Acker Vega Sicilia dinner with Pablo Álvarez (Asador Bastian): 75/79/81. A more red fruited edition with an array of toasted herbs. This is texturally lithe and dances across the palate with length and precision. Seamless and elegant.
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9/6/2022 - beatles wrote: 93 Points
Plenty of kirsch here, lingers on, good freshness, spice
#El Cellar de Can Rocca #JubileTasting
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3/28/2020 - Bandreas Likes this wine:
Surprisingly short cork for such a high quality/high-price wine...
Very dark color, impenetrable in the center, garnet at the rim - definitively belying the wine's age..
Powerful bouquet of leather, leather dust and "sweaty saddle" coupled with sweetish notes of dried prunes, also underlying tannins. There is also a touch of "morbidezza" on the nose.
On the palate it is very round with firm and ample mouthfeel and good finish. A solid wine, but to me, not extraordinary. Nor would I pay today's market price for it.
My wife liked it a lot.
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8/11/2018 - Aromatic wrote: 95 Points
Second bottle after 2 years also excellent, open 5 hours before dinner, burst of sweetness on the nose. Fully resolved very clean velvet elegant and long. Berries garden which makes you want to drink again and again. Can finish a bottle alone. Many years to go!
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11/26/2016 - Axelpeter wrote: 70 Points
(Schm MöglB) Unfortunately gone
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12/9/2015 - justburg wrote: 93 Points
SS's 40th at Les Amis. This was, by far, the most impressive of the trio of 1975s drank side by side. Dark red, bright, vibrant and absolutely primary in appearance. Intense perfume of red roses, violets, wild raspberries, Asian spice, sandalwood and mocha. Such a complex nose! Good structure on the palate, sweet tannins, great balance of acidity, power, fruit and elegance. Raspberries, red kiwis, chocolate, leather, plums, mocha, truffle and earth. This wine developed continuously over the course of 3 hours, without showing any signs of fading. Remarkably similar in terms of character profile to the 1962 a year ago at a similar celebration, with the 1962 perhaps just edging this in terms of length and complexity.
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8/15/2015 - Pacalet Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wow after 40 years this is finally ready to drink. Dark red in color, ready to drink but still youthful to smell or drink. Dark ripe fruit with some tar, leather and spices. Palate got a lot of weight and depth, ripe yet with good acidity lift at the back, very long finish.
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7/9/2015 - j-cv Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted 2 1/2 hrs prior to the meal. Surprisingly little sediment with a crystal clear dark ruby color. Initial leather and dark fruit softening with a bold, yet remarkably fine finish. I did not experience the astringency others have commented on until the final few sips easily another hour into the meal. After 40 years, 22 of them in my personal cellar, this wine still had the power and vigor one expects with subtle and delicate secondary and tertiary flavors which one hopes for. I suspect this vintage has at least another 10 good years.
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10/13/2014 - MC wrote:
Base neck/Top shoulder fill, with cork stained 1/2 way. Deanted 90 minutes and probalby hit its stride around the 2 hour mark. Brownish bricking red. This had notes of scorched earth, sweat, and creme brulee on the nose. Dark fruit on the palate, with some caramel and leather. As it gets more air, the tannins become a bit more astringent on the finish. Very good, maybe not as good as other scores would suggest, but very good. A-
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9/14/2014 - jhngo Likes this wine: 97 Points
delicious rustic light
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8/19/2014 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
Controversial at the table due to some astringency on the finish which increased as the wine sat in the glass. But alternative sips yielded a beautiful, finely complex wine with wonderful smoky dark fruits along with truffles, roasted game and coffee notes. The finish is finely complex. This is a gorgeous Unico but the astringency is a concern going forward. Perhaps not the right food pairing?
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8/14/2014 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 91 Points
Reasonable nose with strong pepper on the nose and red fruit notes. A surprisingly weak palate with an astringent finish. I liked this less than others primarily due to the harshness of the finish. Given the higher opinion of some others, deserving of additional chances to account for the potential of bottle condition or food pairing skewing this evening's performance.
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4/21/2013 - Gobi Likes this wine: 96 Points
Oxygenated slowly in bottle for five hours and decanted right before drinking to separate any sediments. An opaque wine exhibiting a dark core and visible age on the rim due to the brick red hue. Intense yet elegant earthy aromas followed by cherries, plums, licorice, kirsch, sweaty horse saddle, balsam wood, roasted meats, cloves, star anise, with hints of black pepper. Very full on the palate with sour cherries, sweet red berries on the attack with a complex mid palate full of plums, blackberries, orange peel, currants, dark chocolate, coffee, loam, roasted meat juices, and intense refreshing acidity that continues into the long lasting yet discrete finish. Here interesting flavors of roasted meats juices, oriental spices, a slight touch of vanilla appear along with fully integrated silky tannins. A classic mid to full bodied Ribera del Duero where taste is second to its structural form, it feels big but has elegant and discrete flavors, amazing how after 39 years this wine is still fresh yet full of tertiary aromas and flavors.
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3/22/2013 - BradE wrote: flawed
Spoiled. Too bad as prior bottles from this lot were terrific.
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2/1/2013 - Corgi wrote: 95 Points
Cherry, sweet balsamic, pleasant and uplifting. Slightly drier finish relative to 1962, 66 and 67.
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11/14/2012 - BradE wrote:
Very good bottle. Showed the pedigree well. Loved it.
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4/21/2012 - BradE wrote:
I'm an Unico lover, but this was the first time I'd had the 75. Gorgeous, with a great aged profile. Nice wine, will definitely revisit.
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9/9/2010 - Le Musigny wrote: 94 Points
Dark color with nice nose. Well structured and complexwith very silky tanins, cherry and earhty flavors and a long life ahead of it.
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7/13/2010 - markjanes wrote:
Relaxed dinner with old wine/anesthesia mentor (Reno, NV): This guy was youthful in appearance and aromatically very intense with loads of dark fruits (cassis, dark cherry, prunes), loads of coconut and licorice from barrique use, and plenty of mossy minerality. On the palate the wine takes it up a notch with loads of acidity, a lush midpalate, and a moderately firm and focused finish that had loads and loads of length. The wine was drinking quite well day 2 showing no signs of fatigue. "Extraordinary" wine, especially on the palate, with the stylistic caveat that it is lavishly oaked.
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7/11/2010 - thomaskeil Likes this wine: 95 Points
Not decanted. Still going very strong. Complex nose of dark, plush, still fresh fruit, leather, earth, tobacco, mocha, spice. Palate enters with soft deeply expressive fruit that is framed/lifted with acidity lightly dosed with mineral. The overall texture is very pleasing, adding to the play of young vs age against each other. Great finesse and complexity.
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5/22/2010 - 60ouvrees wrote:
Balanced and drinking well but still seems quite young. I think this will continue to improve over the next 10 years.
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10/21/2009 - Rupert wrote: 94 Points
Thirty vintages of Vega Sicilia Único 1953-1999; 10/20/2009-10/21/2009 (Institute of Directors, London): Big, chocolately, dense, plush. Still primary, but wow, what substance. Superb
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9/11/2009 - futronic wrote: 96 Points
Wino Guys Weekend (WGW) #3; 9/11/2009-9/12/2009: From magnum; not decanted. Light-medium burgundy colour. Interesting, complex nose with smoke/hickory sticks, prune, tea, leather, dried cherries, and just a hint of tomato stem that was not unpleasant. Medium-bodied, nicely resolved tannins. Tomato stem, leather, earth, dried cherry and more on a layered, well-balanced, elegant palate presence. Long finish, ~40-45+s with leather, dried cherries. This was dynamite! Interesting in that it showed some characteristics of an Italian wine (bright acidity from Sangiovese) and others from Burgundy with the layers of dried fruit and earth. Very well done and was rock solid the next day also.
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9/11/2009 - mimik wrote: 96 Points
Wine Guy Weekend Chez Doktas Take 3; 9/11/2009-9/13/2009 (Collingwood, Ontario): Wow. One of the most unique wines I've ever had the honour to taste. Unique flavour profile. I got tomatoes(or tomato sauce), black pepper, red peppers, and plums with spices on the nose and on the palate. Lovely texture and very velvety in the mouth. Lots of nice acidity for an almost 35 year old wine. I didn't think it was going to get better but this wine was built to last. Long long finish that was crying out for food. I believe Astrerix adroitly said it was a cross between an Italian and a French wine. (from Magnum)
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11/22/2008 - thomaskeil wrote: 95 Points
Spanish Dinner (Denver, CO): Opened for 2-3 hours before serving. Elected not to decant. Mature but fresh. Very delineated and complex, powerful but elegant from fresh-tasting cherry fruit to mineral finish.
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