Vega Sicilia Valbuena 2018

Deep and complex, with fresh black and blue fruit and an attractive floral and peppery note to this vintage, followed by hints of cedar, sweet spice and vanilla. Very dusty and juicy on the palate, with mealy, powdery tannins that interweave with the fruit. A Valbuena 5 that you can appreciate earlier. (6/2022)

Fantastic freshness. Really round and glorious and direct. Just a hint of port (same river!) but the freshness compensates. Beautiful texture. Long and seductive. Mountain intensity with some meatiness. Very long. 18/20 points (JR) (1/2023)

2017 was marked by the frost of the night between April 27 and 28 that Vega Sicilia fought with their anti-frost towers. The end of the season was warm, and the overall rain was low, 235 liters. The 2017 Valbuena is marked by these circumstances, produced with 94% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 6% Merlot, with good ripeness (14.5% alcohol) and mellow acidity (4.65 grams of tartaric acid and a pH of 3.85). The grapes were cooled down and took three to four days of maceration to start fermenting with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured in a combination of new and used French and American 225-liter oak barrels and 21,000-liter oak vats for almost three years. The result, for whatever reason, was nothing short of spectacular. The wine is perfumed, floral, expressive and balsamic like few vintages before. It doesn't feel like a 2017 at all; it is harmonious, and the tannins were fine. It's an amazing Valbuena that clearly transcends the character of the vintage. What I see here is that since 2010, the wine has a very high consistency. And in 2017 it excels.

Proof that in a tough year (memorable frosts and summer heat) top producers can be relied on to produce fine wines. The 2017 jumps out of the glass with cherry and redcurrant conserve, and flowers. It enters fresh, with succulent cranberry fruit. Finally finishing with dark fruits embedded in mocha and spicy fenugreek. Complete. Following the Vega Sicilia pattern, it spent its first year in barriques (20% American, 40% French). And then a second year in the impressive army of 80-220hl tinas (wooden vats).

You won’t find many 2017s from Ribera del Duero with such depth and textural elegance. It was a year of frost-diminished crops, and vines struggling to mature their fruit in a dry season. Iturriaga harvested early, and lowered the percentage of new oak barrels. After a year, he transferred the wine to large wooden casks for the second year. This 2017 seems austere before opening to savory plum, green herb and anise. The seamless weave of the tannins puts the greatness of this terroir on display.

A savory thread of fragrant wild herb, cedar and leather winds through a creamy range of damson plum, dried fig, olive tapenade and smoke in this supple, layered red, which is rich and concentrated, but harmonious overall, integrating a frame of dense tannins and orange peel acidity. Ends with a lingering, spiced finish.

This solid red delivers ripe fruit, toasty oak, lively acidity and well-integrated tannins. Currant and blackberry flavors mingle with espresso, black olive and loamy earth notes. Harmonious, in the modern style. Tinto Fino and Merlot. (TM) (5/2019)

Exotic aromas of blueberry along with Middle Eastern spice notes set this apart from the Ribera del Duero pack. A wide, pulpy palate is smacking, while short, oaky flavors of stewed plum and beef bouillon are meaty and again, different than most wines from the area. … (MS) (2/2019)