{"title":"Vega Sicilia | Ribera del Duero","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Vega Sicilia Sign in Vineyard\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/Collection_Banner_9c13cc79-4da0-4ced-92b8-2706ba7d534a.jpg?v=1611425760\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLocated in the Ribera del Duero, Vega Sicilia, Spains 'First Growth' is the most iconic of Spanish wineries. It was founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves, who arrived from Bordeaux with cuttings of local grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec) and planted them, together with Spain’s signature grape Tinto Fino (aka Tempranillo) in the arid Ribera soils. It passed through several families in its hundred year existence before it was purchased by the Álvarez family in 1982. This illustrious property laid the founding stone for Ribera del Duero, which is now acknowledged to be one of the best wine regions in Spain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe estate’s success is founded on its meticulous approach. In the vineyard it applies low yields, aided by green harvesting and painstaking selection at harvest. In the winery, wines are aged in any number of receptacles – using French and American, new and old oak, small barrels or huge vats – to engender further complexity. Despite prolonged barrel ageing, the fruit is never dried out or overly oaky – compelling evidence of the superb quality of its raw materials. The Vega Sicilia range includes three cuvées: Único (literally translating as “unique”) is the flagship, followed by Único Reserva Especial (a multi-vintage blend) and their “entry-level” offering Valbuena 5° (an expression of Tinto Fino aged for five years, hence the “5°”). The top two wines are a blend of Tinto Fino with a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon and\/or Merlot, depending on the vintage. They are both aged for approximately 10 years prior to release, normally spending six of those in barrel and three in bottle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnder the management of Pablo Álvarez, Vega Sicilia has now built up a portfolio which includes Bodegas Alion (providing a more modern expression of Ribera del Duero), Bodegas Pintia (in the emerging region Toro), Macán (a partnership with Benjamin de Rothschild) and the Hungarian Tokaji estate, Oremus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003eVEGA SICILIA\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003c!-- split --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.temposvegasicilia.com\/\" title=\"The official website of Tempos Vega Sicilia\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/desktop_icon_cd1f9a91-a06b-4665-880d-cc47c0dde6d7_480x480.jpg?v=1588261941\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/temposvegasicilia\" title=\"Like Vega Sicilia on Facebook\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/facebook_icon_d3f13554-5a1f-49e3-a487-0da023dfd02d_480x480.jpg?v=1588261424\" alt=\"\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/facebook_icon_d3f13554-5a1f-49e3-a487-0da023dfd02d_480x480.jpg?v=1588261424\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TVegaSicilia\" title=\"Follow Vega Sicilia on Twitter\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/twitter_icon_34f9bd96-ace0-4f23-b0ee-0e0d2f8cc379_480x480.jpg?v=1588261424\" alt=\"\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/twitter_icon_34f9bd96-ace0-4f23-b0ee-0e0d2f8cc379_480x480.jpg?v=1588261424\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/temposvegasicilia\/?hl=es\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Follow Vega Sicilia on Instagram\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/instagram_icon_07bcf872-b0f0-428b-b788-b56bac71ff21_480x480.jpg?v=1588261424\" alt=\"\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/instagram_icon_07bcf872-b0f0-428b-b788-b56bac71ff21_480x480.jpg?v=1588261424\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"vega-sicilia-unico","title":"Vega Sicilia Unico Ribera del Duero","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is the wine that put Spain on the fine-wine map and stays there with zero effort. Unico isn't just a bottle of wine; it’s a lesson in patience. Most wineries are rushing to get their bottles onto shelves, but Vega Sicilia does the opposite. They keep Unico in the cellar until it has \"found itself,\" sometimes waiting ten years or more before they let a single cork be pulled. Unico, an assemblage of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon, is a world-renowned icon and the flagship wine of Vega Sicilia. Of the almost 1,000 hectares that make up the Vega Sicilia estate, 210 are dedicated to the cultivation of vines, with nineteen different types of soil and fifty-five plots with very specific features. In the extraordinary management of these soils, the influence of the course of the River Duero and the passage of time have been crucial. Forty of these hectares are used to produce Unico, which is aged for a minimum of ten years between barrel and bottle, one of the longest ageing processes in the world. Both French and American oak are used, in new and used 225-litre barrels and 22,000-litre vats. Though long and complex, this maturation technique works wonders and the wines gain a myriad of nuances, a precise texture, and a wonderful depth over time. Thanks to this incredible terroir and unique ageing process, Unico can continue developing for decades. The 2016 vintage marks a special moment in the estate’s history. It is the first release fully shaped by technical director Gonzalo Iturriaga de Juan, who joined in 2016 with a mission of precision and balance. The result is an \"instant classic\" - a fragrant, understated, and incredibly elegant wine that has already picked up a massive 98 points from Tim Atkin MW. [#intro]Vega Sicilia's flagship red wine \u0026amp; world-renowned icon...[\/intro]\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vega Sicilia","offers":[{"title":"2012","offer_id":58020636787069,"sku":"A14UNICO-1","price":345.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"2014","offer_id":58020636819837,"sku":"A14UNICO-2","price":385.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"2015","offer_id":58020636852605,"sku":"A14UNICO-3","price":390.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"2016","offer_id":58020636885373,"sku":"A14UNICO-4","price":390.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/UnicoBottle.jpg?v=1712154776"},{"product_id":"vega-sicila-valbuena-5","title":"Vega Sicila Valbuena 5º 2019","description":"\u003cp\u003eDon’t let the \"second wine\" label fool you. Valbuena 5° is a powerhouse in its own right. While its big brother, Unico, spends a decade or more in the cellar, Valbuena is released after exactly five years (hence the name). It’s the wine the estate uses to show off the true, concentrated soul of their Tempranillo grapes without the heavy mask of extreme age.Valbuena, is the purest expression of the Tinto Fino grape (Tempranillo) in Vega Sicilia. Whilst Tinto Fino is the predominant variety in the assemblage of Valbuena a portion of Merlot is also added into the wine, to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the vintage. After fermentation, Valbuena is aged over five winters in barrel then bottle, which is why it is called Valbuena 5º. The crucial first year of ageing takes place in barrel, with 75% French oak and 25% American oak. In this first stage, the aim is to amplify the wine’s structure, sense of sweetness and density. The second year of ageing takes place in large wooden vats and, during this stage, it gains elegance, complexity, tension and subtlety. [#intro]Aged over 5 winters Valbuena 5º is the purest expression of red wine at Vega Sicilia...[\/intro]\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vega Sicilia","offers":[{"title":"2019","offer_id":58020541694333,"sku":null,"price":155.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"2020","offer_id":58020540187005,"sku":"A19VALBUENA-1","price":155.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"2021","offer_id":58020540219773,"sku":"A19VALBUENA-2","price":155.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/ValbuenaNo5.jpg?v=1712156013"},{"product_id":"vega-sicilia-alion-ribera-del-duero-2021","title":"Vega Sicilia Alión Ribera del Duero 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Vega Sicilia Alión is made from 100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) grapes which are sourced from a careful selection of terroirs dotted across the very best areas of the Ribera del Duero DO. These complementary soils, along with the same winemaking process as Vega Sicilia, have given rise to generously structured wines. 2018 was the first vintage to use Alión’s new winemaking facility, designed to give greater precision during extraction. All the grapes are harvested by hand and taken immediately to the winery to the sorting tables where only the finest fruit is selected before fermentation takes place in wooden tanks under controlled temperatures. The use of new oak is a significant investment for Alión, as each and every vintage only the finest new French oak barrels from Bordeaux are used for maturation, which lasts for a period of between 12 and 14 months. Once the wine is removed from the barrels, it remains in bottle for a further 15 months, developing all the primary aromas of the fruit with the hues from its delicate ageing, resulting in an intense, complex and fleshy wine, but where the elegance is a distinguishing feature and hallmark of Vega Sicilia.[#intro]An intense, fleshy \u0026amp; complex wine but with Alión's hallmark elegance and succulence...[\/intro]\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vega Sicilia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41127032291395,"sku":"A20ALION","price":90.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/files\/AlionBottle.jpg?v=1712156585"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0106\/1539\/0266\/collections\/Collection_Image_406840e6-1cdd-4c0c-b92e-982c31c18230.jpg?v=1718092130","url":"https:\/\/hic.wine\/collections\/vega-sicilia-ribera-del-duero\/vega-sicilia.oembed","provider":"Hic!","version":"1.0","type":"link"}