Looked, smelled, and tasted older than it is. Beautifully complex on the nose but on the palate a bit flat. Not as complex as I had hoped. For the price, I would have preferred a nicely matured Bordeaux or Barolo vs this one. I would sell this wine if you have more than one bottle. I think it will fetch a better price than it would be provide drinking pleasure.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Casual dinner: Thought this was a Bordeaux. Nose confused me as it had a little sweetness but the palate was pretty much quintessential Bordeaux with secondary notes of tar and earth. The oak on this was well-integrated, compared to the 2012 that I tried last last year (and promptly sold my own bottle because of the obnoxious oak use). Good older Bordeaux is much more interesting and complex though, this just didn't have a lot going on.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tempranillo + Merlot + Cab Sauv. Deep brick in the glass with a nose that feels big and developed. Complex and somewhat sweet-toned aromas of tobacco leaf, wizened red cherries and mocha pastry. At its peak right now, but can easily go strong for the next 3-4 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Krotida Wine Gang Tasting, Trying Piemonte 2003 - 2004 (Balcony Restaurant & Bar): Very big in the nose, really old school Bordeaux character, old oak, very ripe black fruit, chocolate, liquorice, very inticing and decadent. In the palate, the wine is quite different, showing medium acidity, tannins and body but also rather surprisingly short finish. Dried fruit, the wine feels lean even though with some time, it grows in the glass. The acidity is great, very smooth mouthfeel and utterly easy to drink. This being my 2nd time trying this wine (not the vintage), I have to say that I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, its great that its like this at 20yo, but I would like it to show more length. Also, there is a huge difference between the nose and the palate. After about 30 minutes, I realized I was splitting hairs so... Outstanding quality and aged gracefully, drink now
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Developing nose with pronounced intensity. Semi-dried black fruit - plum, cassis, fig and prunes. Lots of toasted oak with chocolate, vanilla, cacao fat, dill and coffee. Some tertiary aromas of decaying leaves, dried violets, mushroom and wet soil. With time in the glass the floral notes gets more distinct and some menthol/eucalyptus comes through. Great nose that really has a classic, old school-finewine feeling to it.
Medium(+) body with medium(+) rounded up tannins and a lovely, fresh, medium(+) acidity. Surprisingly light and airy mouthfeel. Pronounced intensity of flavors with much fresher fruit, less evident oak and more spicy, earthy notes. Dry, fresh and long finish.
Tasted blind we were stumbling between noble Bordeaux or high end Rioja. Which made perfect sense when the wine was revealed. It's fun when great wines really shines even when they're tasted blind. This wine is really in the zone right now but will probably stay here for another 3-5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lots of earthy, ripe red fruit tones. On the palate the acidity is prominent, with a velvety texture and very good length. Just beginning to hit its stride, hints of mushrooms and barnyard emerging from the fruit and vegetable compote. I think this is in its drinking window but could easily go another 4-5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
@ Sampler Tasting 04/2014 - from magnum. Amazingly vibrant for its age although some evidence of orange on the rim. Showing red fruit amidst herbs and more games notes on the nose. The palate is still showing power both in terms of tannin but also vibrant acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
On the eye this opaque wine exhibits a dark core with a fading brick color on the edges. Aged aromas on the nose revealing plums, blackberries, cherries, old leather, roasted game, sandalwood, tobacco,undergrowth, and black pepper. Nice silky texture on the palate with sour red fruit flavors on the attack, the midpalate is filled with intense acidity, licorice, espresso, and dark chocolate. The finish is of long length on this mid bodied wine, however it is quite coarse and monolithic. It shows green stemmy flavors, black pepper, small hints of creamy vanilla, and very rough tannins. This seems to have a traditional Rioja character, where the harsh acidity marks the backbone and fruit flavors take a secondary role. Very complex tertiary aromas, more Burgundian in character, but the flavors are fully Castilian. This seems to be in its last gasp of life, drink up sooner than later.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Yesterday the wine was very good; today the wine is terrific (after a night in the fridge). The resemblance with top Burgundies is obvious, but it is a wine in its own style. The colour is deep, healthy and very fresh with an acidity that introduces underneath the pinot-style nose fresh cherries. The concentration is enormous and the mid- and aftertaste are build like a very stylish castle. It is quite special that the aftertaste remains longer in the nose than in the mouth. Why waiting with this beauty?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cambridge University / CellarTracker Dinner (Pembroke College, Cambridge): Quite a big palate with crunchy tannins and classic Ribera del Duero notes of vanilla, cherries and black fruit. The poor relation tonight when drunk alongside more exulted red wines. This needs time to let the oak soften a touch.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A crime to say it, but a wine to serve a little bit cooler and with no decant - this puts on a lot of weight over 5-8 hours. Out of the bottle very light, restrained with cherries, soft fruit and earthy notes. Over the day it puts on weight and the tannins become more pronounced. Some nice funk in here and red fruit - very good. If you drink this over a long period of time you can really pick up the nuances of the fruit. Not a wine to bang down.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted blind. Coffee, barnyard and new leather all mixed in with huge black fruit. A bit of alcohol lift. Still a young wine, quite primary, could easily age for another decade. I had no idea what this was but I knew it was good!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Lunch with my family at the downtown of Athens in an Indian Restaurant. Black color, with brown hues. Scents of tomatopaste, cherry, clove, wood and smoke. Full to medium bodied with high acidity and flavors of leather, berries, oaky vanilla and spices. I think it is getting old. To drink now. Nice pairing with vindaloo beef.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
First contact with Vega Sicilia; everything in balance: the perfect colour, the concentrated nose with a hint of Burgundy (grand cru!) and a backbone that supports perfectly all the elements from start to finish. A stylish, not overconcentrated wine; I did not know that Spain could make such elegance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Getting close to its peak, fantastic wine, great nose, really love the fruit on the palate. I did not have time to open the bottle in advance, but decanted it, was still evolving after 90 minutes. Love it!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2009 Family Xmas; 12/24/2009-12/25/2009 (Alicante): After ten years, a perfect Valbuena. Open just one hour before service. All-spices nose with blackberries and sandalwood. Dense but well-balanced in mouth. Sappy. Creamy. Complex palate with a velvet texture. Xmas lunch, pairing a traditional leg of roasted lamb with rosemary creamy potatoes. Superior class wine here.
Después de diez años un Valbuena en su punto. Sin decantar, solamente abierta una hora antes de su servicio. Nariz llena de especias con frutas negras y sándalo. Denso pero bien equilibrado en boca. Jugoso. Cremoso. Paladar complejo con una textura a terciopelo. En la comida de Navidad, acompañando una tradicional pierna de cordero con patatas. Un vino de categoría superior.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tour of Spain (Waterford Wines Milwaukee): deep sweetness on the nose with earth and tabacco leaf. light and elegant oak notes to the nose. not outrageously aromatic. very fine tannins integrating. deep cherry fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pre-Christmas Offline (Market Restaurant, Manchester): 14% The nose has perfumed black fruit with a certain lactic quality. Lovely palate. Very impressive. Huge and pleasurable. This seems a particularly good Valbuena. Excellent. 95+/100 I find the two Pesqueras more complex, but the Valbuena is more immediately pleasurable. The Valbuena seems to have improved since last tasted almost three years ago to the day on 22nd November 2003.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Rubi fechado, límpido e brilhante. Perfume delicado, fino, complexo e intenso. Inicialmente floral e mineral, depois abriu para grafite e, por fim, o tão agradável traço resinoso. Taninos marcantes mas finos, elegantíssimo, equilibrado, boa fruta e ótima acidez. No meio termo entre o clássico e o moderno. Muito longo. Vega, sem dúvida. 95pts. Excepcional.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Rubi fechado, límpido e brilhante. Aromas intensos, agradabilíssimos, de esmalte/resina. Taninos ainda marcantes porém finíssimos, alta e agradável acidez, muita fruta, equilibrado, elegante e muitíssimo longo. Leve cacau no retrogosto. No mesmo nível do Vega 91, embora um pouco mais rústico. 94+pts. Excepcional
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Provado informalmente. Rubi com reflexos violáceos, textura aveludada, taninos muito finos, extremamente complexo e encorpado.Taninos ainda firmes mas já agradabilíssimo. 93+pts. Excepcional
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Vega-Sicilia library wines with proprieters and Michael Broadbent (Christies NYC): Rudy red this wine is in between the first two. All three are very similar and I found this to be the best of the three. The structure stands out as the best. The tannins again take over and at this point my chapped lips begin to tighten up from the thick black drying wine. All three wines need time to further develop.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Vega Sicilia Masterclass with Xavier Ausas (London): The 1999 Valbuena has a lighter appearance, with more youth. On the nose, there is plummy black fruit, especially blackcurrants and an oaky sweetness. The nose is intense and long with great depths, and pleasantly aromatic. I find this quite different and a much lighter style of Valbuena. There is more forward fruit on the palate, neatly balanced by some acid. Still a lot of tannin, but it’s already softer and silkier than the 98. A very spicy finish concludes a wine that is showing remarkably well, but I wonder whether it has as much longer term potential as the 98 and particularly the 2000. The 1999 Valbuena was also tasted in May at Vega Sicilia: my notes are entirely consistent. Although 1999 was looking like a great year, it turned out to be another tough harvest, becoming increasingly renowned for the surge in Marlboro shares as Xavier Ausas chain-smoked himself through the harvest, the hardest he has known. Harvest began fairly normally on 10th October, but lasted only until 14th October when heavy rains put a stop to it. The rains continued until 26th October and harvesting recommenced at the start of November. In the meantime, all the harvesters remained on the payroll, employed on repeated checks on the vines, removing any grapes that displayed any sign of rot and trimming back foliage to keep a good airflow around the grapes that remained. 80% tinto fino, the rest mainly merlot with some malbec.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
7/13/2023 - popasq Likes this wine: 95 Points
This just continues to evolve in a great directly, drinks wonderfully.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/14/2022 - popasq Likes this wine: 95 Points
Still solid but given how the other Valbuenas i have from the 80s I am drinking, they are amazing, will wait a few more years to open the next 99.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/30/2021 - Dibbs wrote: 90 Points
Looked, smelled, and tasted older than it is. Beautifully complex on the nose but on the palate a bit flat. Not as complex as I had hoped. For the price, I would have preferred a nicely matured Bordeaux or Barolo vs this one. I would sell this wine if you have more than one bottle. I think it will fetch a better price than it would be provide drinking pleasure.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/30/2021 - melvinyeowq wrote:
Casual dinner: Thought this was a Bordeaux. Nose confused me as it had a little sweetness but the palate was pretty much quintessential Bordeaux with secondary notes of tar and earth. The oak on this was well-integrated, compared to the 2012 that I tried last last year (and promptly sold my own bottle because of the obnoxious oak use). Good older Bordeaux is much more interesting and complex though, this just didn't have a lot going on.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/16/2020 - Philippe_C wrote: 96 Points
WOW, superb nose of leather, ripe strawberries, bacon, roasted meat... Super silky tannins, delicious sappy red strawberries, length of 30 sec.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/8/2019 - grapenomad wrote: 92 Points
Tempranillo + Merlot + Cab Sauv. Deep brick in the glass with a nose that feels big and developed. Complex and somewhat sweet-toned aromas of tobacco leaf, wizened red cherries and mocha pastry. At its peak right now, but can easily go strong for the next 3-4 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/24/2019 - kostaslonis wrote: 92 Points
Krotida Wine Gang Tasting, Trying Piemonte 2003 - 2004 (Balcony Restaurant & Bar): Very big in the nose, really old school Bordeaux character, old oak, very ripe black fruit, chocolate, liquorice, very inticing and decadent.
In the palate, the wine is quite different, showing medium acidity, tannins and body but also rather surprisingly short finish. Dried fruit, the wine feels lean even though with some time, it grows in the glass. The acidity is great, very smooth mouthfeel and utterly easy to drink.
This being my 2nd time trying this wine (not the vintage), I have to say that I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, its great that its like this at 20yo, but I would like it to show more length. Also, there is a huge difference between the nose and the palate.
After about 30 minutes, I realized I was splitting hairs so...
Outstanding quality and aged gracefully, drink now
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/1/2017 - appel54 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tät, mörkröd färg
För första gången hittar jag mängder med dill, mycket kompakt frukt, blommon, jordigt
Strävt, trevlig längd, bra komplexitet och elegant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/28/2017 - karl.1480 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Developing nose with pronounced intensity. Semi-dried black fruit - plum, cassis, fig and prunes. Lots of toasted oak with chocolate, vanilla, cacao fat, dill and coffee. Some tertiary aromas of decaying leaves, dried violets, mushroom and wet soil. With time in the glass the floral notes gets more distinct and some menthol/eucalyptus comes through. Great nose that really has a classic, old school-finewine feeling to it.
Medium(+) body with medium(+) rounded up tannins and a lovely, fresh, medium(+) acidity. Surprisingly light and airy mouthfeel. Pronounced intensity of flavors with much fresher fruit, less evident oak and more spicy, earthy notes. Dry, fresh and long finish.
Tasted blind we were stumbling between noble Bordeaux or high end Rioja. Which made perfect sense when the wine was revealed. It's fun when great wines really shines even when they're tasted blind.
This wine is really in the zone right now but will probably stay here for another 3-5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/19/2016 - Rani Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lots of earthy, ripe red fruit tones. On the palate the acidity is prominent, with a velvety texture and very good length. Just beginning to hit its stride, hints of mushrooms and barnyard emerging from the fruit and vegetable compote. I think this is in its drinking window but could easily go another 4-5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/25/2015 - jkuanl Likes this wine:
Strong nose of black fruits, plums, earth, and a bit of oak. Silky and round, finely grained tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/8/2014 - dustbuddy wrote: 93 Points
@ Sampler Tasting 04/2014 - from magnum. Amazingly vibrant for its age although some evidence of orange on the rim. Showing red fruit amidst herbs and more games notes on the nose. The palate is still showing power both in terms of tannin but also vibrant acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/28/2013 - Gobi wrote: 92 Points
On the eye this opaque wine exhibits a dark core with a fading brick color on the edges. Aged aromas on the nose revealing plums, blackberries, cherries, old leather, roasted game, sandalwood, tobacco,undergrowth, and black pepper. Nice silky texture on the palate with sour red fruit flavors on the attack, the midpalate is filled with intense acidity, licorice, espresso, and dark chocolate. The finish is of long length on this mid bodied wine, however it is quite coarse and monolithic. It shows green stemmy flavors, black pepper, small hints of creamy vanilla, and very rough tannins. This seems to have a traditional Rioja character, where the harsh acidity marks the backbone and fruit flavors take a secondary role. Very complex tertiary aromas, more Burgundian in character, but the flavors are fully Castilian. This seems to be in its last gasp of life, drink up sooner than later.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/11/2013 - Bronc0-82 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Superb. Pleasant aromas, excellent feel. Top performer. Reminded me of '95 La Rioja Alta.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (1)
9/14/2011 - FransS wrote: 95 Points
Yesterday the wine was very good; today the wine is terrific (after a night in the fridge).
The resemblance with top Burgundies is obvious, but it is a wine in its own style.
The colour is deep, healthy and very fresh with an acidity that introduces underneath the
pinot-style nose fresh cherries. The concentration is enormous and the mid- and aftertaste are build
like a very stylish castle. It is quite special that the aftertaste remains longer in the nose than in
the mouth. Why waiting with this beauty?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/30/2011 - pjaines wrote:
Cambridge University / CellarTracker Dinner (Pembroke College, Cambridge): Quite a big palate with crunchy tannins and classic Ribera del Duero notes of vanilla, cherries and black fruit. The poor relation tonight when drunk alongside more exulted red wines. This needs time to let the oak soften a touch.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/29/2011 - pjaines wrote:
A crime to say it, but a wine to serve a little bit cooler and with no decant - this puts on a lot of weight over 5-8 hours. Out of the bottle very light, restrained with cherries, soft fruit and earthy notes. Over the day it puts on weight and the tannins become more pronounced. Some nice funk in here and red fruit - very good. If you drink this over a long period of time you can really pick up the nuances of the fruit. Not a wine to bang down.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/28/2011 - Rani wrote: 94 Points
Tasted blind. Coffee, barnyard and new leather all mixed in with huge black fruit. A bit of alcohol lift. Still a young wine, quite primary, could easily age for another decade. I had no idea what this was but I knew it was good!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/15/2010 - balassis wrote: 88 Points
Lunch with my family at the downtown of Athens in an Indian Restaurant.
Black color, with brown hues.
Scents of tomatopaste, cherry, clove, wood and smoke.
Full to medium bodied with high acidity and flavors of leather, berries, oaky vanilla and spices.
I think it is getting old. To drink now.
Nice pairing with vindaloo beef.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/14/2010 - FransS wrote: 93 Points
First contact with Vega Sicilia; everything in balance: the perfect colour, the concentrated nose with
a hint of Burgundy (grand cru!) and a backbone that supports perfectly all the elements from start to
finish. A stylish, not overconcentrated wine; I did not know that Spain could make such elegance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/15/2010 - popasq wrote: 95 Points
Opened 2 hours before drinking. Great valbuena, will age very well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/6/2010 - popasq wrote: 96 Points
Getting close to its peak, fantastic wine, great nose, really love the fruit on the palate. I did not have time to open the bottle in advance, but decanted it, was still evolving after 90 minutes. Love it!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/25/2009 - Harley1199 Likes this wine:
2009 Family Xmas; 12/24/2009-12/25/2009 (Alicante): After ten years, a perfect Valbuena. Open just one hour before service. All-spices nose with blackberries and sandalwood. Dense but well-balanced in mouth. Sappy. Creamy. Complex palate with a velvet texture. Xmas lunch, pairing a traditional leg of roasted lamb with rosemary creamy potatoes. Superior class wine here.
Después de diez años un Valbuena en su punto. Sin decantar, solamente abierta una hora antes de su servicio. Nariz llena de especias con frutas negras y sándalo. Denso pero bien equilibrado en boca. Jugoso. Cremoso. Paladar complejo con una textura a terciopelo. En la comida de Navidad, acompañando una tradicional pierna de cordero con patatas. Un vino de categoría superior.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/20/2009 - nzinkgraf wrote:
Tour of Spain (Waterford Wines Milwaukee): deep sweetness on the nose with earth and tabacco leaf. light and elegant oak notes to the nose. not outrageously aromatic. very fine tannins integrating. deep cherry fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/20/2009 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Distinct natural high notes. Actually, rather beautifully impressive. Very high acid which I like.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/24/2006 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 95 Points
Pre-Christmas Offline (Market Restaurant, Manchester): 14%
The nose has perfumed black fruit with a certain lactic quality. Lovely palate. Very impressive. Huge and pleasurable. This seems a particularly good Valbuena. Excellent. 95+/100
I find the two Pesqueras more complex, but the Valbuena is more immediately pleasurable. The Valbuena seems to have improved since last tasted almost three years ago to the day on 22nd November 2003.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/21/2006 - Vinho wrote: 95 Points
Rubi fechado, límpido e brilhante. Perfume delicado, fino, complexo e intenso. Inicialmente floral e mineral, depois abriu para grafite e, por fim, o tão agradável traço resinoso. Taninos marcantes mas finos, elegantíssimo, equilibrado, boa fruta e ótima acidez. No meio termo entre o clássico e o moderno. Muito longo. Vega, sem dúvida. 95pts. Excepcional.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/29/2006 - Vinho wrote: 94 Points
Rubi fechado, límpido e brilhante. Aromas intensos, agradabilíssimos, de esmalte/resina. Taninos ainda marcantes porém finíssimos, alta e agradável acidez, muita fruta, equilibrado, elegante e muitíssimo longo. Leve cacau no retrogosto. No mesmo nível do Vega 91, embora um pouco mais rústico. 94+pts. Excepcional
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/12/2006 - Vinho wrote: 93 Points
Provado informalmente. Rubi com reflexos violáceos, textura aveludada, taninos muito finos, extremamente complexo e encorpado.Taninos ainda firmes mas já agradabilíssimo. 93+pts. Excepcional
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/30/2004 - jamiekutch wrote: 92 Points
Vega-Sicilia library wines with proprieters and Michael Broadbent (Christies NYC): Rudy red this wine is in between the first two. All three are very similar and I found this to be the best of the three. The structure stands out as the best. The tannins again take over and at this point my chapped lips begin to tighten up from the thick black drying wine. All three wines need time to further develop.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/22/2003 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 93 Points
Vega Sicilia Masterclass with Xavier Ausas (London): The 1999 Valbuena has a lighter appearance, with more youth. On the nose, there is plummy black fruit, especially blackcurrants and an oaky sweetness. The nose is intense and long with great depths, and pleasantly aromatic. I find this quite different and a much lighter style of Valbuena. There is more forward fruit on the palate, neatly balanced by some acid. Still a lot of tannin, but it’s already softer and silkier than the 98. A very spicy finish concludes a wine that is showing remarkably well, but I wonder whether it has as much longer term potential as the 98 and particularly the 2000. The 1999 Valbuena was also tasted in May at Vega Sicilia: my notes are entirely consistent.
Although 1999 was looking like a great year, it turned out to be another tough harvest, becoming increasingly renowned for the surge in Marlboro shares as Xavier Ausas chain-smoked himself through the harvest, the hardest he has known. Harvest began fairly normally on 10th October, but lasted only until 14th October when heavy rains put a stop to it. The rains continued until 26th October and harvesting recommenced at the start of November. In the meantime, all the harvesters remained on the payroll, employed on repeated checks on the vines, removing any grapes that displayed any sign of rot and trimming back foliage to keep a good airflow around the grapes that remained. 80% tinto fino, the rest mainly merlot with some malbec.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment