Vega Sicilia - Ribera del Duero Unico 2016

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About wine:

The 2016 Único was fragrant and elegant, reflecting a very good vintage in the region. Winemaker Gonzalo Iturriaga started in 2015, a powerful year, and he remembers 2016 as a very balanced year, with higher yields and finer wines. The winter was mild, the spring cooler than average, and the summer hot. September was dry, resulting in healthy grapes and balanced ripening. The harvest began on September 22 and ended on October 11. The bottled wine is composed of 96% Tinto Fino and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, with an alcohol content of 14.5%, a pH of 3.82, and an acidity of 4.8 grams. It has the traditional Vega aroma, intoxicating, complex and nuanced, full of personality and very energetic on the palate, vibrant and fresh, without lacking power but with great elegance. The wine is released 10 years after harvest, after spending time in new and used American and French oak barrels and in 20,000-liter oak vats, and of course it spends a long time in the bottle. This is a monumental vintage of Único. A total of 92,292 bottles, 3,695 magnums, and a few larger formats were produced. It was bottled in May 2022. 2027-2046

Jancis Robinson

About wine:

Stylistically, this is a tertiary wine, but far from faded. Notes of black tea, leather, and earth emerge with remarkable purity and precision, framed by hints of cedar and an elegant aromatic touch. The palate is surprisingly delicate, with integrated, delicate tannins enhanced by subtle spicy notes—hints of clove and sandalwood—that add nuance. While 2014 and 2015 were hot years, 2016 was not cool, but certainly less hot, resulting in a slightly less concentrated, more refined wine whose primary liveliness remained intact. Hints of black cherry and blackcurrant mingle with a distinctive pine forest freshness, and the oak, skillfully integrated, plays a supporting role. Único is undergoing a quiet evolution: less overtly oaky, more transparent, it exudes a purity that enhances rather than alters the estate's signature character. A wine capable of lighting up a dining room simply by crossing the room to reach the table, it will be the pride of collectors and admirers alike. 2026-2060

James Suckling

About wine:

A beautifully balanced Vega that is already accessible. Everything is in harmony, revealing an almost ethereal quality that contrasts with the denser 2015 vintage. There is a touch of minerality combined with aromas of blackberries and black cherries. The tannins are firm but softened. Medium to full-bodied with a finish that lingers for a minute. Drink now or cellar.