VEGA SICILIA Unico Reserva Especial - Ribera del Duero 2024 Bottle (Blend of 2010, 2011 and 2012)

Unico Reserva Especial 2024 is a blend of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 vintages. A wine which conveys its grandeur with remarkable ease.

95% TEMPRANILLO, 5% CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Description

In the words of Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW: “I have never tasted a Reserva Especial as complex, immeasurable, balanced … as this one.”

This is a non-vintage Vega Sicilia and a tribute to tradition. Unico Reserva Especial is a true homage to the history of Spanish wine, perfectly combining the characteristics of different Unico vintages. 

Only the best Unico vintages are used to produce this iconic and remarkably complex wine. It is a blend of time, virtues, experiences, and emotions that shape the most profound nature of a proprietary, unique style: the Vega Sicilia style. 

THE WINE ADVOCATE 98 points

Reviewed by Luis Gutiérrez

Drink Date: 2024 - 2035

The NV Único Reserva Especial 2024 Release was produced with a blend of wines from 2010, 2011 and 2012, not that far from the previous release, which was from 2009, 2011 and 2012, as they are slowly trying to increase the average age of the wine. As I've seen in the last few years, they look for a house style from yesteryear, combining more developed characteristics with elegance and freshness. This blend of Tinto Fino with some Cabernet Sauvignon is also lower in alcohol, 14%, with a pH of 3.85 and 5.1 grams of acidity. The color denotes some evolution with a faint orange around the rim. The nose is complex and elegant, a more developed version of the 2014 Único that I tasted next to it, with truffle, forest floor, ripe black fruit, sweet spices, leather and meat. The palate feels quite polished, with a superb texture, sleek and elegant, with very fine tannins, subtle bitterness and a long and lingering taste. This is a superb blending exercise. 18,288 bottles and 272 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2020.

At Vega Sicilia, they never stop changing and relentlessly looking for ways to improve their wines. They are increasing the capacity of 75,000-liter oak vats and have conducted a study of their non-Saccharomyces yeasts.

JAMES SUCKLING 97 Points *****

16 Aug, 2023 – Dried rose petals, sandalwood, cloves, balsamico, leather, and dried flowers. Dark fruits. Medium to full body. It’s tight and structured with a racy and intense finish. Tight at the end. A blend of mostly 2010, 2011 and 2012 of Unico. Then ten years of aging in wood and four years in bottle. Bottled in June 2019. Drink or hold.