1967 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único

Community Tasting Notes (27) Avg Score: 93.1 points

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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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