Vega Sicilia - Unico 2002 (3L)
Price: $2325.00
Producer | Vega Sicilia |
Country | Spain |
Region | Castilla Y Leon |
Subregion | Ribera del Duero |
Varietal | Tempranillo |
Vintage | 2002 |
Sku | 3176 |
The bedrock is schistous: the same rock that underlies the Port vineyards of the Douro further downstream. The topsoil is chalk-based, very pale and quite sandy.
Vega Sicilia Description
Wine:
The Unico Tinto is the Vega Sicilia flagship. The qualities of the Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon in different proportions are assembled to perfection in this wine. 40 hectares are used to produce Unico, with at least ten years of aging, in both barrel and bottle, considered to be one of the world's longest. French and American 225-litre oak barrels, new and used, 20,000-litre tanks; a long and complex process, that makes these wines outstanding when released and eternal when aged. Tinto Fino, supplemented with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, from vines of an average 35 years old.
Producer:
Out of the nearly 1,000 hectares that make up the Vega Sicilia estate, 210 are used to grow vines. Our vines are in soils with very specific features, where the influence of the flow of the River Duero and the passing of time has been essential. Vines having been grown on the Vega Sicilia estate for over hundred years, which makes it possible to obtain a specific plant matter and genetic make-up. All this, together with the extremely careful and respectful handling of the vines and of the environment, makes it possible to produce unique vines.The vine is the cornerstone for Vega Sicilia of its winemaking. Everything begins with the vine and that is what establishes the qualities and specific features of the wines that will be, subsequently, ratified here in the winery.
Wine Advocate: 95 Points
Having skipped over releasing a 2001 due to frost damage, the 2002 Unico is a result of a severe selection as attested by the label which shows that just 42,932 bottles were produced instead of 108,536 in 2000. It has an incredibly intense nose, much more linear and focused than the more flamboyant 2000, with scents of dark cherry, creme de cassis and a touch of honey and melted dark chocolate. The palate is medium-bodied with a slight grainy texture on the entry, a hint of cooked meat inflecting the layers of toasty dark berry fruit. It is very harmonious and perhaps at this juncture, edgier and grittier than the millennial Unico. It is less opulent and more structured than the 2000, but is a more cerebral wine.
Wine Spectator: 93 Points
This polished red offers cherry, herbal, tobacco and menthol flavors over firm, well-integrated tannins, with a long cedar and floral finish. Graceful and harmonious.