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95 By Robert Parker
The most Burgundian (that's great Burgundy, by the way) wine of the tasting, the 1966 Unico Reserva exhibits a huge, fragrant, penetrating bouquet of sweet, jammy, black-cherry fruit, cedar, smoke, and earth. The saturated, dark ruby color reveals a hint of amber at the edge. Full-bodied, succulent, and velvety, this gorgeously-proportioned, decadently-styled Vega Sicilia is fully mature, yet its balance, freshness, and thrilling level of flavor extraction suggest it should easily glide through 15-20 more years. If readers have the financial means to drink one fully mature vintage of Vega Sicilia's Unico Riserva, it should be the 1966 or 1953.
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.