Spanish Collector

wines

This is still very tight and closed with so much depth and beauty. The linear line to this is very vertical and draws you down. It shows intense blackberry, dark-chocolate, hazelnut and walnut character. Full body. Chewy yet extremely polished. Precise. Shows decadence. So drinkable already, but better in 2022.James Suckling | 99 JSOpaque violet. Intensely perfumed, expansive black and blue fruit preserve, potpourri, Moroccan spice and botanical herb scents are complemented by smoky mineral and vanilla flourishes. Sappy, penetrating and deeply concentrated on the palate, offering vibrant, mineral-laced black currant, bitter cherry, chewing tobacco, mocha and floral pastille flavors that deepen and turn sweeter on the back half. Shows superb focus and vibrant, floral lift on the wonderfully long, youthfully tannic finish, which leaves behind cherry liqueur, candied violet and spicecake notes.Vinous Media | 98 VMUnico is Tinto Fino, with 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, in contrast to Valbuena No.5, which has a small dash of Merlot. It opens with alluring aromas of dark plums, spice and oak. As expected, it’s powerful, intense and very long, but within that you can note the very fine tannins, the result of the assiduous attention to ageing in different types and sizes of vats over the years. There’s an element of tobacco smoke, of black fruits, of the dark plums promised in the aromas, the whole beautifully integrated. A vintage and a wine that’s hard to better. This has 25 to 30 years ahead of it, but you could also enjoy it within a few years - that’s the essence of Vega Sicilia, its interplay of youth and ageability. Drinking Window 2025 - 2050.Decanter | 98 DECI was surprised by the aromatics of the 2010 Único, cropped from a powerful and concentrated year that delivered this blend of 94% Tinto Fino (aka Tempranillo) and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 14.5% alcohol and a highish pH of 3.87. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in a combination of French and American oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats and aged for almost six years. It feels quite ripe and somehow old style, dominated by ripe black fruit, with a rustic and earthy touch. It has an ample palate, concentrated and powerful, with some earthy tannins. 85,185 bottles, 3,362 magnums, 228 double magnums and 36 Imperials were produced. It was bottled in June 2016.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThis red is dense, balanced and complex. Plum, dried currant, cigar box, leather and mineral flavors mingle over ripe, well-integrated tannins. Orange peel acidity keeps this lively through the long, floral finish. Harmonious and graceful, in a classic style. Tinto Fino and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2030. 7,000 cases made, 740 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSAs meaty and gamey as dry-aged filet mignon, this is a complex and sophisticated vintage of Unico. It grows in parcels of old vines rising up a north-facing hillside, the soil flecked with gypsum that has crystalized, glinting amidst the layers of limestone and clay. The wine itself layers cranberry, fig and black-mushroom flavors into its sleek richness and power while the structure remains tight as a drum, even at ten years of age. Built for the long haul.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&S