Unico 2013

The wine in this vintage

Cold and late, 2013 was one of the most difficult recent vintages in Ribera del Duero: a rainy spring, a cool summer and a harvest pushed deep into autumn required great care in vineyard and cellar. That is precisely why Unico 2013 is a remarkable achievement, the fruit of rigorous selection. The wine has a lifted, refined profile, with red fruit, cherry, redcurrant, aromatic herbs, fine spice, tobacco and cedar, and a taut palate with fine-grained tannins and a fresh, persistent finish. Robert Parker gave it 97 points. Less opulent than the warm years, Unico 2013 is appreciated for its elegance and precision; it is already enjoyable and can keep evolving for many years.

The producer · Vega Sicilia

Founded in 1864 in Valbuena de Duero by Eloy Lecanda y Chaves, who returned from Bordeaux and planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec alongside the local Tinto Fino, Bodegas Vega Sicilia is Spain's most famous winery and one of the most admired in the world. For over a century it was an almost solitary beacon in a Ribera del Duero still far from its present renown, and its flagship wine, Unico, became a symbol of prestige, served at royal and diplomatic tables. Since 1982 the estate has belonged to the Álvarez family, who renewed the vineyards and winery while preserving the house's identity; it is now led by Pablo Álvarez. The vineyards, at around 700 to 800 metres, enjoy an extreme continental climate with wide day-night temperature swings. The house style rests on very long ageing in wood and bottle before release: Unico, from Tinto Fino with a share of Cabernet Sauvignon, reaches the market only after many years, while Valbuena 5° offers a younger expression.

Critics' scores

• 97 Robert Parker

Technical details

Producer

Vega Sicilia

Region

Ribera del Duero

Country

Spagna

Type

Rosso

Vintage

2013

When to drink

Hold, still evolving

Critics' average

97/100

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0860113