Vega Sicilia - Unico 2003
Price: $478.95
| Producer | Vega Sicilia |
| Country | Spain |
| Region | Ribera del Duero |
| Varietal | Tempranillo |
| Vintage | 2003 |
| Sku | 56138 |
Vega Sicilia Description
This is the reference wine of Vega Sicilia, although it shares its special character with the rest of the wines from the winery. It comes from the older vines on the estate and is made with the varieties of tempranillo and more cabernet sauvignon than merlot.
Although it is old, the red wine maintains its liveliness thanks to its good acidity level compensated by solid alcohol content. It has an intense ripe cherry colour, with the lively edge of a wine that is always at its best. The aroma prevails with hints of roast from the wood, and touches of hazelnut from its oxidative evolution from its years in the cask.
It has generous tastes of old but clean wood, with dry tannins that are pleasantly embittered by the oak, together with the sensation of its light sweetness of its alcohol. It is a pedigree wine with a long, lasting taste.
Vinous Media: 95 Points
Inky ruby. Highly aromatic scents of ripe cherry and dark berries, singed plum, cured tobacco and succulent herbs, with a vanilla undertone. Sweet, expansive and powerful, offering intense black and blue fruit flavors with smoke and floral accents. Rich and full but surprisingly lively, with excellent finishing thrust and sweet, harmonious tannins adding grip. Shows the ripeness of the vintage to good effect; this is a somewhat approachable and exotic Unico, especially with some air, but it has the concentration to age slowly. -- Josh Raynolds
Wine Spectator: 94 Points
This red is generous and expressive, delivering dried cherry, tobacco, mineral and spice flavors in a rich, round texture, with a good balance of well-integrated tannins and racy acidity. More harmonious than assertive, but shows plenty of depth.
Wine Advocate: 94 Points
Vega Sicilia's 2003 Unico, mainly Tempranillo with a balancing 8% of Cabernet Sauvignon, was aged in wood for nearly seven years before being bottled, starting with 15 months in large oak vats, followed by 25 months in new barriques, before being transferred to used ones for another 17 months and ending its elevage with a further 22 months in those large wood vats again. As I uncork the bottle, the aroma reminds me of a classical Tempranillo, with some dill notes from the American oak and a minty hint from the Cabernet. It actually makes me think of traditional Rioja, believe it or not. The wine doesn’t show the heat of the vintage, and manages to transmit a general sensation of balance and finesse that is quite remarkable for the characteristics of the year..it starts off slightly lactic, with notes of cafe au lait, coconut and cola. With a bit of time, it turns more flowery and shows more red fruit. It is very aromatic, with plenty dry herbs, thyme and rosemary, even pine nuts, a bit of resin and some cured meat, and overall has a very complex nose. The mouth is a little more transparent toward the heat of the vintage, it is powerful and full-bodied, but manages to keep freshness...A success over the vintage conditions, it already shows some signs of complexity, which points at an approachable Unico.
Wine Enthusiast: 91 Points
Hailing from the hottest vintage in years, this is round, rubbery and showing sweet, rooty aromas of root beer, cola, mocha and stewed plum. Dense but soft, it has rubbery, savory flavors of barbecue sauce, herbal plum, tomato and carob. An earthy, loamy, chunky finish offers tobacco and baking spice accents. Michael Schachner
