NEW RELEASES: The 2025 releases from the Vega Sicilia stable

January 7, 2025

The 2025 releases from the Vega Sicilia stable

Vega Sicilia, Unico Reserva Especial NV (2025)
£1,107 per 3 bottle case in bond

Vega Sicilia, Unico 2015
£837 per 3 bottle case in bond

Vega Sicilia, Valbuena 2020
£318 per 3 bottle case in bond

Alion, Ribera del Duero 2021
£342 per 6 bottle case in bond

Pintia, Toro 2020
£264 per 6 bottle case in bond

The new year invariably heralds the newest set of releases from TEMPOS Vega Sicilia. This includes the latest iteration of each of: Vega Sicilia Unico, Valbuena and Reserva Especial together with Alion, also from Ribera del Duero, and Pintia , from the nearby DO of Toro.

Vega Sicilia is undeniably one of the truly great estates of Ribera del Duero, of Spain and of the entire wine world. We are delighted to be able to offer this new set of wines and include the notes and scores of leading Spanish wine critic, Luis Gutiérrez.

Vega Sicilia, Unico Reserva Especial NV (2025)
£1,107 per 3 bottle case in bond

98 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com, January 2025
The NV Único Reserva Especial 2025 Release was produced with a blend of wines from 2011, 2012 and 2013, with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.86 and five grams of acidity. It has the core of the 2012, possibly the higher percentage in the blend too, which gives the power and structure with the freshness and tension of 2013, which also provides some balsamic characteristics, and less of the 2011. It has a very harmonious and subtle nose, and the wine shows extra complexity and elegance. It has the Único nose with more nuance and subtleness, but what I liked the most was the silky texture and the elegance of the tannins, as usual combining more developed characteristics with elegance and freshness. This is another stellar release of their non-vintage classical blend, slowly going back to the style of yesteryear. A total of 18,518 bottles and 261 magnums were produced. It was bottled in May 2021. Drink 2025-2040

Vega Sicilia, Unico 2015
£837 per 3 bottle case in bond

97 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com, January 2025
The 2015 Único comes from a year with a fast ripening, and they had to harvest early to keep the crunchiness of the fruit. This was the first harvest produced 100% by winemaker Gonzalo Iturriaga. The aging was five years in oak, one and a half years in barrels and three and a half years in oak vats. It's a big year, produced with 96% Tinto Fino and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. It's ripe, with 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.88 and 4.8 grams of acidity. The grapes are cooled down for one day, the bunches are selected and then fermented with a pied de cuve in vats. It's a ripe and concentrated vintage, classical modern Vega Sicilia nose, expressive, aromatic and open, with notes of dark cherries, spice, cigar box and a medium to full-bodied palate with abundant fine-grained tannins, with good balance and the rustic elegance of the best Ribera del Duero. In 2015, they produced 84,184 bottles, 3,645 magnums and some larger formats, less than 2014, which was the largest production of Único ever. It was bottled in May 2021. Drink 2027-2042

Vega Sicilia, Valbuena 2020
£318 per 3 bottle case in bond

95 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com, January 2025
The 2020 Valbuena is from a year marked by COVID-19 and lots of rain before the harvest, which resulted in a more ethereal wine, with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.9 and 4.45 grams of acidity. It was produced with 97% Tinto Fino and 3% Merlot, cooled down for 24 hours and then fermented with indigenous yeasts from a pied de cuve in stainless steel. It matured in barrel and oak vats during the first year, and in the second one, it aged exclusively in oak vats of different sizes, 8,500 and 21,000 liters. In 2020, the wine is finer-boned, it's more fluid, it's only medium-bodied, perhaps because of the dilution from the rain, and the tannins are fine-grained and polished, but there's less juiciness in the wine. It calls for food. With time in the glass, the wine opens up and becomes more aromatic, and it even seems to gain juiciness and change texture. This is a production of 186,286 bottles, 5,673 magnums and some larger formats. It was bottled in May 2023. Drink 2025-2037

Alion, Ribera del Duero 2021
£342 per 6 bottle case in bond

96 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com, January 2025
The vintage released in 2025 is the 2021 Alión, a year to remember, one of the best in recent times; it was relaxed and textbook in all senses, with snow in the beginning of the year, a mild spring disturbed only by frost in Pesquera that didn't affect other villages, a relatively cool summer that slowed things down, and the grapes ripened to perfection without rain after September. They used grapes from 13 different villages throughout the Ribera del Duero, 130 hectares. The grapes are cooled down for 24 hours, and once destemmed, they are put in the oak and stainless steel vats, where they undergo a five-day cold soak and then native fermentation through a "pied de cuve." It has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.81 and 4.8 grams of acidity (tartaric). It's very fresh and fruit-driven, with the balance and elegance of the cooler years, a little austere, with very elegant and polished tannins and a different quality, when the grapes ripen slowly. They believe 2024 has the potential to be like 2021, after the 2022 and 2023 vintages were a lot more challenging. This is a large production of 244,244 bottles, 7,075 magnums and some larger formats. It was bottled in June 2023. Drink 2025-2040

Pintia, Toro 2020
£264 per 6 bottle case in bond

94 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com, January 2025
The 2020 Pintia is from a powerful year of concentration, so they were very careful with the harvest date, did a softer vinification trying to extract less and included amphorae and less toast in the élevage. It's opulent and juicy but gentle. The wine reached 15.5% alcohol and has a pH of 3.9 with 4.4 grams of acidity. It fermented in stainless steel and oak vats with indigenous yeasts. It was a very warm and dry vintage in Toro, with a heat wave before the harvest, so they had to rush to pick the grapes; and still the wine is richer and more powerful, even though the amphorae helped them contain the sensation of ripeness in the wine. It has a heady and ripe profile, very aromatic and showy, with notes of very ripe berries, prunes and decayed violets with a faint volatile twist. It matured 70% in new barrels, 10% in used barrels, 10% in stainless steel and 5% in clay pots. It's full bodied and lush, with abundant, slightly dusty tannins. It was a ripe and powerful vintage for Pintia, but it evolved nicely in the glass, showing less of its ripe side with time, which to me is a good sign. Some 14,304 half bottles, 209,009 bottles, 6,645 magnums and some larger formats were produced. It was bottled in August 2022. Drink 2026-2032

Please let us know of your interest at: finewineoffers@atlasfinewines.com

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