Thirty vintages of Vega Sicilia Único 1953-1999
Institute of Directors, London
Tasted Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by Rupert with 1,648 views
Introduction
Held over successive evenings, even numbered vintages the first night, odd numbered the second. This was a great opportunity to get a fix on the character of Único and it showed through pretty much every wine - bitter chocolate and dried cherry fruit, sweet on the palate, and ravishing smooth textures. There was amazing consistency. Only the '89 showed any obvious faults, and the taint seemed to me to blow off completely. The 2 examples of the blended reserva were less fresh and compelling than the straight vintages. Pointless to pick a winner from this bunch, so little to choose between them.
Flight 1 (30 Notes)
Closing
There is a detailed write-up of this tasting at lindenwilkie.com
1999 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 93 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Vanilla oaky, very smooth, plush mulberry fruit, much less aggressive than the '98. Young, but delicious already
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1998 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 92 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Bags of vanilla/cocnut/mint on the nose from the oak, very plush. At the outset I found this very attractive, but not very distinctive, but after the other vintages the Unico character became much more apparent.
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1996 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 91 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Discreet, ripe, notes of bitter chocolate, lovely smooth mouthfeel, but the flavour elusive, a strong backbone from the acid, but this was not obtrusive. Like other younger wines, the character of this was easier to perceive after having had the older wines.
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1995 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 91 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Slightly sickly on the nose, ripe and restrained. This comes over as a substantial wine that's a bit mute today.
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1994 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 92 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Blackberry fruit nose, glossy palate, so luxurious, substantial tannins underneath the gloss, deeper than the '96, more power and yet still elegant.
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1991 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 93 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Fresh and open on the nose, smooth ripe juicy palate, tight cherry fruit - very fine
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1990 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 93 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Volatile, lively, spice, cedar, mushrooms, and a musty note too, mouthfilling, oodles of sweet fruit, delicious
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NV Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único Reserva Especial 1981, 1986, 1990 (1997 Release) 90 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
A blend of 90/86/81. This too was a tad volatile, still very oaky, and grippy, a bit old woody, but plenty of fresh fruit too. Plush and attractive, but not a patch on the straight 1990.
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1989 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 93 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
At first this seemed to be corked. Returning to it an hour or so later, the taint seemed to have gone and this was a brilliant spicy full throttle Unico - big and open.
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1987 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 92 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Some cherries on the nose, but tightly wound. Tannic. But this could be very fine with a bit more age. (Several present thought this overly acidic.)
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1986 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 95 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
High-toned assertive ripe chocolatey fragrance, young, vigorous, very spicy, packed with sweet fruit, mouthfilling - sensational
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1985 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 94 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Deep cherry fruit, bright, gorgeously fragrant, very spicy - pure, direct and refined - very lovely.
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1983 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 92 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Next to the '85, this was more diffuse on the nose, weaker on the palate - light, floaty, but still showing a smooth satiny texture - very attractive
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1982 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 93 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Sweet fruit nose, spice and tobacco, the palate all melllow sweet fruit, plenty of tannin still there; overshadowed for me by the '82, but this was very charming
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1981 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 92 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Tight medicinal nose, some earthiness, but then cherries, cherries all the way - finishing very pure and pretty
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1980 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 91 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Assertive spicy nose, smooth and powerful, the tannins noticeable but not rough - lovely wine but a bit lacking in comparison with the '86 and '82.
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1979 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 90 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Vague nose, warmer and more noticeably alcoholic than the others here tonight, and having relatively less oomph.
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1976 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 90 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Sickly sweet nose, smooth and creamy on the palate, as creamy a wine as I've ever had and I didn't like it at first, but on returning to it it had gone attractively smoky tobacco sweet
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1975 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 94 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Big, chocolately, dense, plush. Still primary, but wow, what substance. Superb
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1974 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 93 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Deep, smooth, rich and, like all these wines, it showed a silky smooth texture whilst being punchily flavourful.
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1973 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 92 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Dried cherries and cedar. Some fungus, lots of fruit. Grippy. But very satisfying.
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1972 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 93 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Lighter, sharper and edgier than the other wines, fresh, lifted with sweet cedary fruit, very lively, with strong driving acidity - lovely lovely wine (I was much more enthusiastic about this than most others present)
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1970 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 94 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Dark, vigorous, rich dried cherry chocolate fruit, substantial complex wine, the most powerful tonight
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NV Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único Reserva Especial 1968, 1970 (1990 Release) 90 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
A blend of 1970 and 1968. Sweet, cherry liqueur chocolate nose, smooth, fruitcake rich, lacked the energy of the straight vintage wines
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1969 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 91 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Spirity whisky nose, dried cherry fruit, a bit pinched, but fine
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1968 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 93 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Not much on the nose, but gorgeous smooth vigorous sweet fruited wine, very lovely
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1967 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 91 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Old wood and whisky nose, but the palate was all pure cherry fruit. Tannic, but fine.
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1966 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 93 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/20/2009)
Browning, but very much alive, the palate all brown sugar sweetness, but animated by the acid core - this lingered beautifully.
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1965 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 90 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
This was tiring a bit, though there was still plenty of fresh cherry fruit. Less tannic than the preceding wines.
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1953 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único 94 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
(10/21/2009)
Not much on the nose, but the palate showed a gorgeous depth of fruit, lots of layers, harmonious, velvet texture. Stunning.
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