Vega Sicilia Unico 2014

James Suckling
A refined, ethereal and elegant Unico. Streamlined layers of mixed peppercorns, smoked paprika, blackberries and spiced dark fruit. Hints of orange zest and flowers. Spicy, with tightly wound tannins. The length is impressive. 94% tempranillo and 6% cabernet sauvignon. Tasted from magnum. Coming along nicely. Try on release in 2026 or after.

Wine Enthusiast
Brooding violet to the eye, this wine has a restrained nose of Simka plum and mocha with a hint of violet. It comes on a touch strong, with burly tannins backing blackberry, anisette, cocoa powder and fennel bulb flavors. As tannins drop off, a touch of lavender alights on the palate and lingers into the smooth finish. Drink through 2039.

Wine Advocate/Robert Parker
The 2014 Único was produced with grapes from 40 hectares of vines selected from the 210 hectares the winery has. The grapes were picked between September 20th and October 3rd, and the blend was 94% Tinto Fino and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. It fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, with malolactic in stainless steel. The first part of the aging was in 225-liter barrels and the second one in 20,000-liter oak vats, and the élevage lasts 10 years between oak and bottle. It's a year that combines power and elegance; it's concentrated but has subtleness. I had a unique opportunity to taste it from magnum one year ago and was truly impressed. This tasting was consistent with those sensations. 2014 was a good vintage in the zone, a year with good rain and a big crop, not as powerful as 2012 or 2015 but a year with finesse. The wine feels very balanced, lower in alcohol and with integrated oak, crunchy, fresh and still young. It feels quite classical; it's fine-boned, elegant but also powerful, more like the Únicos from yesteryear. It has to be one of the finest vintages of recent times. It has 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.85 and five grams of acidity measured in tartaric acid per liter of wine. One of the largest vintages of Único, 104,606 bottles, 3,612 magnums, 356 double magnums, 50 imperials and five Salmanazars were produced. It was bottled in June 2020. It seems like years ending in four—1994, 2004, 2014 (but not 84, which was not produced)—are very good here. We'll have to wait and see about the 2024.

Bodegas Vega Sicilia er Spaniens svar på en Grand Cru og landets mest prestigefyldte vinhus. Vingården ligger i Ribera del Duero hvor Eloy Lacanda y Chaves plantede Bordeaux druerne Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot og Malbec side om side med den lokale Tempranillo i 1864. Vega Sicilias kultstatus begyndte dog først i starten af det 20. århundrede under ejerskab af Antonio Herrero. Siden da har vingården skiftet ejere flere gange indtil det endelig faldt i hænderne på de nuværende ejere; Alvarez familien i 1982. Opskriften på vinenes succes findes bl.a. i et nærmest hysterisk fokus på kvalitet der starter med uhyre lave høstudbytter, grøn høst og en ekstrem hård udvælgelse af druer under høsten – kun det bedste er godt nok. Vega Sicilia er især berømt for kultvinene Único, Único Reserva Especial og Valbuena 5.