Unico Ribera del Duero DOCa - Vega Sicilia

The Unico is one of the greatest wines of Spain and is the flagship of Vega Sicilia. It shows a deep crimson color with an intense cherry red hue. Vega Sicilia Unico is characterized by a powerful, broad and unusually fruity bouquet of spicy berries and dark plums for this vintage. This bouquet is underpinned by a bit of lavender, the characteristic freshness of the terroir and the classic ethereal notes of incense.

The concentrated, aromatically dense and opulent palate of Vega Sicilia Unico shows what a good decision it was to reduce yields. The result is a complex, powerful and great wine with enormous potential, outstanding length and clearly structured tannins.

Vinification of the Unico from Vega Sicilia

The grapes for Unico, 95% Tinto Fino, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, grow on 19 differently structured soils, most of them stony and poor. This high quality terroir is dominated by limestone with alternating proportions of clay and limestone. It also includes classic alluvial soils dominated by sand, silt, gravel and pebbles. In these plots of Vega Sicilia, all the grapes are harvested by hand in a highly selective manner and immediately transported to the winery in small 12 kg crates. Here, fermentation is done traditionally on the skins. After alcoholic fermentation and biological acid transformation, the Unico undergoes traditional aging, perhaps one of the longest for a classic bottled wine.

After 10 months in 500l barrels, the Unico spends 19 months in new French oak barriques and then 8 months in used French barriques. The barrel aging is completed by 20 months in large wooden barrels. After bottling, Vega Sicilia's Unico ages in bottle for another 3 years before finally going on sale. 

Food recommendation for the Unico by Vega Sicilia

This iconic red wine from the Ribera del Duero tastes delicious with roasted lamb, fine braised beef with wild mushrooms or wild fowl with berry compote.

Awards for Vega Sicilia Unico

• Robert Parker: 96 points for 2008
• Wine Spectator: 94 points for 2008
• Guia Penin: 94 points for 2008

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