Best vintages of Vega Sicilia Único: which to buy
Vega Sicilia only bottles its Único in harvests it considers exceptional. Even so, each vintage has its own character: some to cellar for decades, others ready to enjoy today. This is our guide, vintage by vintage, to help you choose the Único that suits you best.
What an "exceptional" vintage means
El Consejo Regulador de la Ribera del Duero califica cada cosecha como Excelente, Muy Buena, Buena, Normal o Mediana, tras catas a ciegas. Vega Sicilia va un paso más allá: revisa sus vinos en bodega durante años y solo lanza el Único cuando alcanza su listón. Por eso no existe Único de todas las vintages, y por eso comparar cosechas tiene tanto sentido a la hora de buy.
As a quick reference for the last decade in Ribera del Duero: 2010, 2011, 2019 and 2020 were Excellent; 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, Very Good; and 2013, Good. Único, with more than ten years of ageing before release, translates that climate into style.
The Único vintages, one by one
Único 2015 — a recent benchmark vintage
Rating: Very Good · 97 Parker · 98 SucklingA warm, ripe cycle. Dense, youthful colour, with black fruit, violet and noble spices over oak that still needs time. Structured and vibrant, with a freshness that projects it for decades. Impressive today; in 2030 it will be moving.
Buy Único 2015 →Único 2014 — the balanced classic
Rating: Very Good · 98 Parker · 98 SucklingA cool, Atlantic vintage that produces a textbook Único: precise red and black fruit, cedar, tobacco and an elegant balsamic note. Medium-bodied, perfectly knit and with an aristocratic finish. A model of proportion rather than power.
Buy Único 2014 →Único 2013 — the most graceful, to drink now
Rating: Good · 97 Parker · 98 SucklingA cold, Atlantic harvest, the lightest of the range. Transparent ruby-garnet, delicate aromas of raspberry, pomegranate and tea, with the oak in fine brushstrokes. Slender and easy to drink, almost like a Burgundy from Ribera. To enjoy now.
Buy Único 2013 →Único 2012 — opulent and fleshy
Rating: Very Good · 96 Parker · 97 SucklingA dry, hot summer: a ripe, sunny Único of stewed plum and blackberry, fig and cocoa. Glyceric and enveloping, with fleshy tannins and a lush finish. The most sensual, hedonistic side of Vega Sicilia.
Buy Único 2012 →Único 2011 — power and muscle
Rating: Excellent · 96 Parker · 98 SucklingA warm, sunny year. One of the most powerful Únicos of the decade: candied black fruit, pepper, leather and toasted cedar, with dense tannins and a long life in bottle. It needs air and a large glass; it has decades ahead.
Buy Único 2011 →Único 2010 — the balance of a legendary harvest
Rating: Excellent · 97 Parker · 99 SucklingA benchmark harvest: cool spring, moderate summer and slow ripening. Serene complexity —currant, dried violet, graphite, liquorice— with body and freshness at once, very fine tannins and an endless mineral persistence. A classic to cellar.
Buy Único 2010 →Único 2007 — elegance over power
Rating: Very Good · 95 ParkerA cool, late-ripening vintage that gave an atypically graceful Único, now at its peak. Fully tertiary: cherry liqueur, leather, tobacco and dried flowers, of disarming subtlety. Proof that at Vega Sicilia elegance rules.
Buy Único 2007 →Which vintage to choose depending on what you're looking for?
To cellar: 2010 and 2015, those with the greatest ageing potential (easily to 2045–2050). To drink now with pleasure: 2013 and 2007, already open and enjoyable. For those seeking power: 2011, the most muscular. For lovers of classicism: 2014, pure balance. For a hedonistic experience: 2012, the most lush.
Único in Magnum: why it ages better
In Magnum (1.5 L) or Double Magnum (3 L) format, Único evolves more slowly thanks to a more favourable oxygen-to-wine ratio: it stays younger and more primary, and lasts even longer. It is the format preferred by collectors and for great celebrations. If you're unsure which vintage to cellar, a magnum of a great harvest is the safe bet.
Every vintage with real stock and updated prices, from an official authorised distributor.