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95 Wine Spectator
Muscular but not overbearing, this big Spanish red marries ripe fruit and plenty of oak, with a nice mix of plum, chocolate, licorice and spice flavors backed by firm, well-integrated tannins. Harmonious and long on the finish, it's stylish yet with traditional character. Drink now through 2008. ?TM
92 Robert Parker
Spain's most consistently great winery continues to turn out exciting wines. There are four Unico Reservas currently in the market. The 1986 Unico Reserva tastes as if it were only 4-5 years old, evidence of just how youthful these wines tend to be. The color is an opaque plum/garnet. A harmonious wine, that appears to have much of its development ahead of it, there is good glycerin, full body, copious tannin, and a backward yet promising style. This wine is less accessible than the 1985, 1983, or the 1981, and may merit an even higher score. It is one of the few Vega Sicilia wines that will require cellaring at its release.
Producer
Bodegas Vega Sicilia
Spain’s most famous red wine producer, Vega Sicilia consistently produces the best distinct blends from the Ribera del Duero, in both style and approach. Located in Valbuena de Duero, the estate has been in the Álvarez family since 1982, and has remained the largest in the country, with about 1000 hectares of property – 25% of which are planted to vines. Their top wine, Unico, is a delicious blend of Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and Cabernet Sauvignon. Unico benefits from extended cask-maturation time that has been perfected to preserve amble freshness in the finished wine. Then there is also the exceptional Reserva Especial, a non-vintage, which is a blend of the top selections, and is traditionally aged for 10 years consisting of mostly Tinto Fino, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The second wine coming from Ribera del Duero’s most influential vineyard is Valbuena, which has more present fruit character, a cuvée of Tinto Fino, Malbec and Merlot.