Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2004 Único magnum was a revelation. It's very fine, elegant and balanced, starting to show more tertiary notes and the Vega Sicilia perfume. It's medium to full-bodied with a fine thread and very good balance. You can drink this now, but it should go on for decades. This contains as much as 13% Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Wine Enthusiast
Lightly baked and hinting at raisin and fine herbs, the bouquet on this benchmark Spanish red enfolds aromas of tobacco, moss and ripe tomato. In the mouth, it’s elegant and silky but also full and expansive. Flavors of baked berry fruits, baking spices, herbs and cocoa finish with a light coating of toast. This is an amazingly complete, exemplary wine that’s just entering its prime. If past vintages of Unico are an indication, it will age well through 2035.
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Decanter
Recommended by Jasper Morris MW for a tasting we held together, this just jumped out of the glass. I am giving a drinking date from now, as it is getting on towards 17 years old, but it is still extremely young and has decades ahead of it, with bright black cherry and brambled autumnal fruits in the foreground, with tertiary leather and cigar just beginning to spiral upwards. Voluptuous, powerful, layered, complex, with all the subtle toast, tar, chocolate shavings and smoke hints that you would expect from a wine with such a slow and subtle ageing process (in this case 15 months in 20,000-litre vats, 25 month in new barrels, 17 months in older barrels and a further 26 months in large-sized oak vats). I love it when a legendary wine lives up to the hype, and this more than did so.
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Wine Spectator
This expressive red shows lacy notes of floral, cedar, tobacco, spice and orange peel that mingle in a lean, firm texture and linger on the long, spicy finish. Delivers backbone and grace, in a traditional style.
Notoriously food-friendly, long-lasting and Spain’s most widely planted grape, Tempranillo is the star variety of red wines from Rioja and Ribera del Duero. The Rioja terms Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva indicate both barrel and bottle time before release. Traditionally blended in Rioja with Garnacha, plus a bit of Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano, the Tempranillo in Ribera del Duero typically stands alone. Somm Secret—Tempranillo claims many different names depending on location. In Penedès, it is called Ull de Llebre and in Valdepeñas, goes by Cencibel. Known as Tinta Roriz in Portugal, Tempranillo plays an important role in Port wine.
Ribera del Duero, Spanish wine region, is located in northen Spain’s Castilla y León region, just a 2-hour drive from Madrid. While winemaking in this area goes back more than 2000 years, it was in the 1980s that 9 wineries applied for and were granted Denominación de Origen (D.O.) status. Today, more than 300 wineries call Ribera del Duero home, including some of Spain’s most iconic names.
Notable Facts Ribera’s main grape variety, Tempranillo, locally know as Tinto Fino, is perfectly suited to the extreme climate of the region, where it must survive scorching summers and frigid winters. Low yields resulting from conscientious tending to old vines planted in Ribera’s diverse soils types, give Ribera wines a distinctive depth and complexity not found in other Tempranillos. Rich and full-bodied, the spice, dark fruit and smoky flavors in a bold Ribera del Duero will pair well with roasted and grilled meats, Mexican food and tomato-based sauces.