A very merry Christmas Eve to you all. I am particularly in the holiday spirit this morning as I write about one of the giants out of Spain and the Ribera del Duero region in the Province of Vallladolid, Castile and Leon. Founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves, the proprietor planted Bordeaux varietals in this region which are still used to make the wines today. 1982 marked the first year that the Ribera del Duero was granted Denominación de Origen (DO) status and the winery has since been owned by the by the Álvarez family. Their top wine, the ‘Unico’ fetches more than 300 dollars a bottle. They rely on the winemaking talents of Xavier Ausás to craft these very special wines.
The wines are known for their tremendous aging potential and the two wines I was able to sample come from very old vintages, 1997 and 2000, which were not particularly good vintages in this region, but the wines showed splendidly. While I was not able to review their ‘Unico’ wine, their second wine, the ‘Valbuena’ is a wine of tremendous quality.
1997 was seen to be a relatively poor vintage in this region, while 2000 was a solid vintage that falls slightly below the epic 2001 vintage. The 1997 Vega Sicilia ‘Valbuena 5’ Ribera del Duero (WWB, 94) is a dazzling wine that has plenty of life left, showing marvelous earthy tones and a nice core of acidity that sits with the lighter citrus rind and red fruit tones. There is no reason to cellar this beauty anymore. Just as good is the 2000 Vega Sicilia ‘Valbuena 5’ Ribera del Duero (WWB, 94) which is slightly richer but also shows marvelous tertiary notes and a silky smooth texture. Learn more about these famed wines at https://www.temposvegasicilia.com Here are some brilliant older wines by Vega Sicilia.
1997 Vega Sicilia ‘Valbuena 5’ Ribera del Duero- The 1997 Vega Sicilia ‘Valbuena 5’ Ribera del Duero is a simply dazzling effort from this challenging vintage in Ribera del Duero. The non-fruit notes of leather and cigar ash combine with the light core of red cherry and pomegranate seed tones, with cirrus rind and peat moss suggestions rounding out this expressive nose. The palate is soft and plush, showing its gorgeous mouthfeel. A bright beam of salinity runs through the core of red fruits with Mandarin orange rind, and white truffle as well as boysenberry preserve flavors that complete this stunning older bottle. Now at the 22 year mark, the 1997 Vega Sicilia ‘Valbuena 5’ Ribera del Duero is gorgeous now and will cellar well for at least another five to ten years. But why wait? Drink 2019-2026- 94
2000 Vega Sicilia ‘Valbuena 5’ Ribera del Duero- The 2000 Valbuena 5° is a simply magical Ribera del Duero bottling which is harmonious and highly Bordelaise at this exciting stage in its development. Taken from a good, albeit challenging vintage in Ribera, the wine is is evolving beautifully. The wine opens with a beautiful bouquet of peat moss, forest floor, wild mushrooms, and suggestions of wild blackberry compote which all mingle together marvelously in the glass.. The palate is plush showing off a silky texture and delightful mouthfeel. Bright acidity remains, as a light dusting of salinity runs through a core of black fruits with suggestions of black truffle shavings, cigar box, and leather tones. The exceedingly gratifying finish lingers long. While this wine is showing magically at this stage, it still has at least another decade of life left- Drink 2019-2033- 94