Valbuena 5°, Vega Sicilia 2013

Very attractive aromas of blackberries, dark chocolate and orange peel, as well as fresh herbs. Full-bodied, very rich and layered with lots of beautiful fruit. A long and flavorful finish. Rich and opulent. A blend of 95% tempranillo and 5% merlot. Drink or hold.

Cropped from an unusually cold and rainy vintage in which they will not bottle Único, the 2013 Valbuena is always released in its fifth year. It's mostly Tempranillo with 5% Merlot that was put through a three- to four-day cold soak in the oak vats where it fermented with indigenous yeasts and was pumped over. It matured in new and used 225-liter French and American oak barriques and also in 20,000-liter oak vats, where the larger vessels respect the fruit, especially in a more fragile vintage like 2013. It's a very elegant and fresh Valbuena with a developed nose, quite classical with a fine texture, elegant tannins and a supple, long finish where the oak is still quite obvious. I liked it very much and consider it a triumph over the challenges of the year. 150,650 bottles and some larger formats were produced. It was bottled in June 2015. 2019 - 2028

It is a wine that has yet to show its potential aromatically. It is closed, intriguing. The oak is very well placed. It is a fine vintage, very deep. It was a delicate year and the wine is clearly ready to be drunk now. On the other hand, the texture is very fine, more ethereal. It soars fantastically. It has a point of freshness that sustains its structure. Graphite, truffle and minerality above the fruit. I love to see how in a complicated vintage they produce such a truly remarkable wine. Drink 2019-2040.

Classic, sumptuous vanilla on the nose. Beautiful blackberry fruit – a touch of jamminess, but still entirely natural and savoury. Bright acidity, lovely large yet supple grain to the tannins, and huge persistence on the palate. The alcohol finishes with a bit of heat. Bitter chocolate, olive and liquorice on the finish. Great flavour intensity, and needs many years to evolve, but I hope the alcohol won’t stick out any further. Drink 2020-2033.