Masterclass with Pablo Alvarez, Vega Sicilia

Caveau Wine & Bar, Shaw
Tasted Tuesday, March 26, 2013 by Sleepy Dave with 703 views

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 2011 Oremus Furmint Tokaji Dry Mandolás 86 Points

    Hungary, Tokaji

    Alcohol :: 13.5%
    Chalky, citrus, orange and refreshing minerality. Quite rounded and surprisingly rich with touch of sweetness at the mid palate of which keeps lingering in the mouth and leads to juicy, refreshing mineral infused medium length finish. Decent.

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Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 2008 Bodegas Pintia Toro Pintia 88 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Alcohol :: 15%
    Purplish red. 10months in new 70% French and 30% American oak barrel. Sweet dark fruits, espresso, earth, tobacco and spice. Quite muscular on the palate with underlying lively acidity for the lift. The new wood tannin is pretty much present and a bit rustic but not overly so that should be derived from the new oak barrel. Dark chocolate, espresso aftertaste after the medium - long finish. Powerful and gripping. Need time. 88-89+

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  • 2009 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero 90 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Alcohol :: 14.5%
    20-21hl/ha. 100% new French oak. Purplish red. Tighter and more reserve than the pintia. Vanilla, tobacco leaf, wood spice and earth. Dark fruits is hiding underneath today but has better depth and complexity. Very food roundness and sense of finesse, elegance here. It is dense and rich but light on its feet despite loaded with sweet dark cherry fruits and grounded coffee bean note. Tannin is powerful but finely grained. I especially like the freshness and saline mineral here. Long, savory and alone complex finished. Very good. 90-92

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Flight 3 (2 Notes)

  • 2009 Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia Rioja Macan Clásico 85 Points

    Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

    Purplish red but with lighter core than Alion and Pintia. similar aromatic profile to Bordeaux. Red berry and cherry fruits with tobacco, cigar box and pencil shaving note. Friendly on the palate, with some sweet vanilla and black currant fruits on the palate that accompany by light - medium tannin. Juicy, mineral infused finish. Not bad.

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  • 2009 Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia Rioja Macan 86 Points

    Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

    14mths in used French oak (100%). Similar to the Classico, this has sweet red fruits but with high tone wood spice. Very tight with good power on the palate. The tannin is fine grained and palate coated. Espresso, dark chocolate and savory medium finished. Need another 3-5yrs. 86+

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Flight 4 (2 Notes)

  • 2008 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5° 90 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Alcohol :: 14%
    By far the most distinctive profile here. It is Bordeaux like with its blackcurrant, tobacco leaf, pencil shaving but intermixed with mocha, dark chocolate and red cherry fruits. This is by no mean unapproachable as the tannin is well integrated and the overall balance is excellent. The freshness here make the wine light on its feet and dancing on the palate effortlessly and elegantly. Finished is fine and lingering. This bottle will be benefited from another 5-7yrs of bottle aging to develop better secondary nuances and complexity too. By far the my favorite Valbuena to date. 90-91+

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  • 2003 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 92 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Alcohol :: 14%
    Ok, we are here with Vega Sicilia top wine - The Unico. My expectation wasn't high as to me Unico needs at least another 10yrs to show after being released. I was right, the nose is unyielding. What I could get was deep and focus, but almost no aromas at all, shut! Palate wise, the acidic and tannic structure dominated the palate and delivered tons of weight. However, the acid is not tart nor sharp and the tannin is not rustic but finely-grained. The balance is actually excellent and caresses the palate. Again, not much flavors here and what you could access is the overall balance and the finished, which is long, lingering and very fine. 92-93+

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Flight 5 (1 Note)

  • 2002 Oremus Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos

    Hungary, Tokaji

    Alcohol :: 10%
    Beautiful red golden color. Perfume bouquet of roses, black tea, sweet prune and orange marmalade. With time the burn caramel note emerged which is highly attractive. Very sweet and rich at entry but the mid palate can't really be connected and a touch hollow which causes the disjointed finished and pretty short. Need time....

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