Community Tasting Notes 21

• Burgundy Al wrote: 95 points

  October 17, 2023 - Vega Sicilia Unico Dinner with Pablo Alvarez (Asador Bastian - Chicago IL): 90/91/94 flight with this Especial bonus, which comes from the 94/96/00 vintages. Easily the most accessible and enjoyable of the four wines in this flight. Still firm, but less meaty. Completely delightful and seamless, like the older vintages of Unico from the previous flight. An expanding and exciting finish, this also got bigger with more time in glass.

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• Nanda wrote: 94 points

  October 17, 2023 - Acker Vega Sicilia dinner with Pablo Álvarez (Asador Bastian): 91/94/Especial (94 96 00). Interestingly and clearly a different animal than the Unico. More high toned and elegant, while still true to the herb and spice driven complexity. Ethereal and a special wine in its own right.

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• Cailles wrote: 94 points

  September 11, 2023 - Vega Sicilia Unico Vertical: 10x Vega Sicilia Unico (1985-2006). 7 vintages of Gran Reserva, 3x Reserva Especial. A few conclusions: A) The quality was high in all bottles. Increased complexity and precision, a fine structural framework with silky tannins, pronounced acidity and very good balance. B) The family resemblance across all bottles is high. Unico has a strong and unique DNA with the freshness and tension of a good Bordeaux combined with the softness and silkiness of Tempranillo and a unique flavor profile with lots of fresh blueberries, garrigue, bacon and gentle coffee notes. C) Maturity was well controlled, even in hot years. No hint of over-ripeness. D) The wines are meant to age and certainly need almost 20 years before reaching a first drinking window. The 30 year old bottles seemed young and only the 40 year old ones showed tertiary aromas. E) The quality was high across the board with no weak bottles, but the best wines were the tertiary 1985 (96pts), 1986 (97pts) and 1987 (95pts). The 2006 (95pts) is very promising.
  
  TN: A bit muted on the nose. Licorice, earthy minerality, crushed rocks. On the palate fresh blue fruit, fresh minty herbs, minerality. This is still young but alluring and also fresh and round. With time this gets more complex and rounder. Very promising - 94/95pts.
  
  Decanting: A quick double decant, then the wine rested back in the bottle without cork for roughly five to six hours. This could have needed two hours in a decanter.

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• Xavier Auerbach wrote: 96 points

  April 22, 2023 - A private dinner with friends (Polsbroek, NL): A batch of 54 barriques blended from 1994, 1996 and 2000, released in 2015. Bottle No. 010410 from 15,605 produced, 14% ABV. Tasted blind. Initially quite oxidative, really develops well with two hours in the decanter. Lovely balsamic notes and nutty depth, fresh and elegant, intense and salty, black fruit and mildly grippy tannins, deep and flowing, spicy American oak, excellent persistence. A wine of real elegance.

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• KenK Likes this wine: 94 points

  January 17, 2023 - Brooding dark core of earthy dense ripe fruits with beautiful black spices. Drinking very well.

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Wine Definition

• Vintage N.V.
• Type Red
• Producer Bodegas Vega-Sicilia
• Varietal Tempranillo Blend
• Designation Único Reserva Especial
• Vineyard 1994, 1996, 2000 (2015 Release)
• Country Spain
• Region Castilla y León
• SubRegion n/a
• Appellation Ribera del Duero
• UPC Codes 8420342001633, 8436014241498, 8436014241597

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 9 (1%)
• In Cellars 510 (69%)
• Consumed 220 (30%)

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