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VEGA SICILIA Unico 2011 Bottle

Red Still Wine | Spain | Ribera del Duero | 75cl

£345.00 / £2,070.00 £1,966.50 case

Minus 1 Add
Minus 1 Add
Red Wine

ABV: 14%
Size: 75cl
Closure Type: Cork
Country: Spain
Region: Ribera del Duero
Wine Style: Full Bodied
Grapes: Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon

Description

Of the almost 1,000 hectares that make up the Vega Sicilia estate, 210 are dedicated to the cultivation of vines, with nineteen different types of soil and fifty-five plots with very specific features. In the extraordinary management of these soils, the influence of the course of the Douro River and the passage of time have been crucial. Forty of these hectares are used to produce Unico, which is aged for a minimum of ten years between barrel and bottle, one of the longest ageing processes in the world. Both French and American oak are used, in new and used 225-litre barrels and 22,000-litre vats. Though long and complex, this maturation technique works wonders: the wines gain a myriad of nuances, a precise texture, and a wonderful depth over time. Thanks to this incredible terroir and unique ageing process, Unico can continue developing for decades.

The Vintage
A normal winter for the area in terms of temperature and rainfall gave way to a frostfree spring with temperatures somewhat higher than usual, bringing the plant’s cycle forward in this season. Summer started rather hot at the beginning of July, only to return to average temperatures in the second fortnight. The veraison date was around 12 August, which is typical for this area. The end of ripening was slow and even, with no rainfall and good temperatures allowing pickers to wait for the optimal ripening point for each plot. This resulted in very healthy grapes with a great balance of components, such as high colour indices and good acidity levels. In short, an excellent vintage. The harvest began on 15 September and ended on 28 September.

Grape Varieties: 95% Tempranillo, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon

2011 is a concentrated vintage, yet elegant, silky, precise and deep. Unico is an expression that can be savoured immediately, although over time it will become truly incredible. It is, without a shadow of doubt, a true delight.

THE WINE ADVOCATE Rating: 96
Drink Date: 2021 - 2033
"The Único released in 2021, 10 years after the harvest, is the 2011 Único, selected from 40 of their 210 hectares of vineyards. 2011 is a concentrated and ripe vintage, and they selected 95% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that were cooled in a cold room for 24 hours before being sorted; the bunches and grapes macerated at 9 to 10 degrees Celsius for three to four days, and then it was inoculated with a pied de cuve to ferment with pumping overs. Malolactic was in stainless steel, and the wine was put through a long aging, 10 years between oak and bottle, using new and used French and American oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats. For Vega Sicilia, 2011 was a fresher year than 2010, not the common idea about those vintages in Ribera del Duero. The wine has a developed nose with some notes of ripe black fruit, meat and underbrush, somewhat herbal and perfumed. There is something about the nose of the Únicos that I cannot quite describe but is quite distinct, and it's in this vintage and also in the Reserva Especial. 88,288 bottles, 3,505 magnums, 318 double magnums, 60 Imperial and 3 Salmanazar were produced. The wine was bottled in June 2017. - Luis Gutiérrez, 30th Dec 2020."