Vega Sicilia Unico 2004

Unico is the reference wine of Vega Sicilia. It comes from the oldest vines of the property and composition. In addition to tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon provides more of composition merlot. Although it is old, red maintains its resiliency provided by good acidity balanced with a resounding alcohol. It has an intense ripe cherry color, with the sharp edge of a correct wine. Prevalent in the aromas are the notes of toasty wood, a result of its evolution during his years in cask. Amplitude has aged but clean flavors of wood, dry and pleasantly bitter tannins from oak, with his touch of light sweetness of the wine's spirit.

"Lightly baked and hinting at raisin and fine herbs, the bouquet on this benchmark Spanish red enfolds aromas of tobacco, moss and ripe tomato. In the mouth, it’s elegant and silky but also full and expansive. Flavors of baked berry fruits, baking spices, herbs and cocoa finish with a light coating of toast. This is an amazingly complete, exemplary wine that’s just entering its prime. If past vintages of Unico are an indication, it will age well through 2035." - Wine Enthusiast, 98 pts

"Pablo Alvarez described 2004 as a textbook vintage with perfect temperatures and rain just when it was needed. The 2004 has a haunting bouquet of dark brambly black fruit, cassis, honey, a tang of marmalade and bacon fat. It already boasts an intense, burly bouquet that will require years to soften. The palate is full-bodied with succulent, ripe, intense black cherries, white pepper, minerals and liquorice and it fans out beautifully towards the finish with tar-tinged black fruit interlaced with black pepper. This is a multi-dimensional Unico, more masculine and grander than the 2005, perhaps the sibling of the 1994?" - RP, 97 pts

"Recommended by Jasper Morris MW for a tasting we held together, this just jumped out of the glass. I am giving a drinking date from now, as it is getting on towards 17 years old, but it is still extremely young and has decades ahead of it, with bright black cherry and brambled autumnal fruits in the foreground, with tertiary leather and cigar just beginning to spiral upwards. Voluptuous, powerful, layered, complex, with all the subtle toast, tar, chocolate shavings and smoke hints that you would expect from a wine with such a slow and subtle ageing process (in this case 15 months in 20,000-litre vats, 25 month in new barrels, 17 months in older barrels and a further 26 months in large-sized oak vats). I love it when a legendary wine lives up to the hype, and this more than did so." - Decanter, 97 pts