Appearance: Bright and clear, the wine is of deep ruby colour, with brown rim and legs. Nose: Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit of black cherries and cassis, red fruit of plum, animal notes of leather, oak notes of smoke, maturity notes of tobacco, mineral notes of earth. The wine is developing. Palate: Dry with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin of ripe and dusty texture, high in alcohol, medium (+) body, with medium (+) intensity flavours of black fruit of cassis and dark cherries, red fruit of plum, oak notes of cedar, mineral notes of pencil lead, sweet spice of clove. The wine has a long finish. Conclusion: Very good quality Ribera del Duero that has an intense nose with good complexity but is still predominantly fruit-forward despite its age. On the palate the wine has good structure, well-balanced with its acidity and tannin, harmonized and elegant. The good concentration in flavours and the exceptional length is pleasant. While it is ready to drink, it can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.
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Clear deep garnet; clean medium plus nose of balsamic, dried leather, figs, raisins and bruised fruit; dry; high acidity; high tannins; high alcohol; medium body; pronounced flavour intensity; palate is tarter with addition of campfire smoke and cherries; long finish; drink now or in a few years; initially popped and poured and was dominated by acidity and bruised fruit; evened out after about a two hour decant but remained lean - note reflects that state; similar to our first bottle, it was not as robust as we’d expect from Unico - I suspect both bottles were a little off
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Thanksgiving Mondo Dinner 2023 (Atlanta, GA): Tasted double blind. Turns out this was my first ever tasting of VS Unico and to be honest, I struggled to score it. Initially I thought it was a new world Cabernet based wine due to its sweetness, but then the structure took me to Italy. However, it was so incredibly smooth and symmetrical in complete balance. This wine was vexing to me. In the end, I called it "unknown".
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Last time I tried this wine about 6 years ago I said it needed at least 5 more years and probably more like 10. I think the later guess was more correct. This is still very young. We opened and decanted for maybe a few hours and then rebottled and brought to the restaurant. It was as one might have guessed very good. A bit overshadowed by some of the age on the table but a wine that has a long life ahead. I look forward and hope that this will be wonderful sometimes in our lifetime.
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(Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único) Bricking dark red violet color; mature, tobacco, cigar box, tar nose; tasty, creamy textured, tart black currant, tart berry, raspberry puree, tar, tobacco, espresso, licorice palate; should go 30 years; long finish
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1/10/2024 - peterchoy wrote: 94 Points
Appearance: Bright and clear, the wine is of deep ruby colour, with brown rim and legs.
Nose: Clean, with medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit of black cherries and cassis, red fruit of plum, animal notes of leather, oak notes of smoke, maturity notes of tobacco, mineral notes of earth. The wine is developing.
Palate: Dry with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium (+) tannin of ripe and dusty texture, high in alcohol, medium (+) body, with medium (+) intensity flavours of black fruit of cassis and dark cherries, red fruit of plum, oak notes of cedar, mineral notes of pencil lead, sweet spice of clove. The wine has a long finish.
Conclusion: Very good quality Ribera del Duero that has an intense nose with good complexity but is still predominantly fruit-forward despite its age. On the palate the wine has good structure, well-balanced with its acidity and tannin, harmonized and elegant. The good concentration in flavours and the exceptional length is pleasant. While it is ready to drink, it can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.
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12/16/2023 - Mami458 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Just opened for our daughter’s college graduation. Delicious and look forward to having more in coming years.
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12/16/2023 - Brent25 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Clear deep garnet; clean medium plus nose of balsamic, dried leather, figs, raisins and bruised fruit; dry; high acidity; high tannins; high alcohol; medium body; pronounced flavour intensity; palate is tarter with addition of campfire smoke and cherries; long finish; drink now or in a few years; initially popped and poured and was dominated by acidity and bruised fruit; evened out after about a two hour decant but remained lean - note reflects that state; similar to our first bottle, it was not as robust as we’d expect from Unico - I suspect both bottles were a little off
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11/19/2023 - Francophile1 Likes this wine:
Thanksgiving Mondo Dinner 2023 (Atlanta, GA): Tasted double blind. Turns out this was my first ever tasting of VS Unico and to be honest, I struggled to score it. Initially I thought it was a new world Cabernet based wine due to its sweetness, but then the structure took me to Italy. However, it was so incredibly smooth and symmetrical in complete balance. This wine was vexing to me. In the end, I called it "unknown".
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9/1/2023 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Last time I tried this wine about 6 years ago I said it needed at least 5 more years and probably more like 10. I think the later guess was more correct. This is still very young. We opened and decanted for maybe a few hours and then rebottled and brought to the restaurant. It was as one might have guessed very good. A bit overshadowed by some of the age on the table but a wine that has a long life ahead. I look forward and hope that this will be wonderful sometimes in our lifetime.
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