Vega Sicilia Unico 2012

The latest in a superb run of Único releases, the 2012 is a finely judged cuvée of Tinto Fino and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards on the south side of the Duero river with a northerly aspect. There's no sign of the heat of the vintage here on a wine that is poised, complex and self-assured. Floral, mature and nicely evolved, with fine French and American oak, graceful tannins and a hint of graphite. One of Spain's greatest reds. 2021-37.

Berry, smoke, violet and sandalwood aromas follow through to a full, layered palate that shows super polished tannins that are caressing and long. It’s tight and very long. Give it two or three years to soften. Drink after 2023.

The 2012 Único is released 10 years after the harvest. They produced it with the grapes from 40 of the 210 hectares of vineyards they have, with a total of 55 separate plots and 19 different soils. It's mostly 95% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that are cooled down for 24 hours and then fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation was in stainless steel and the aging in 225-liter oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats for a long time as this was bottled in June 2018. 2012 is a concentrated year, warm and dry with some rain at the end of September that helped the end of the ripening process of healthy grapes with lots of color and ripe tannins. The wine has a ripe nose, with intoxicating notes of black fruit, fresh meat and blood, a spicy touch from the American oak and an earthy twist. It's a voluptuous and decadent vintage for Vega Sicilia, for those that favor years like 2006, a bit atypical, or 1999. The wine finished with 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.88 and 5.1 grams of acidity (tartaric). 88,188 bottles, 3,537 magnums, 328 double magnums, 55 imperials and five Salmanazar produced.

A textbook example of controlled, red fruited elegance, though more restrained perhaps than the glorious 2009. Undoubtedly a big, generous wine, with sumptuously ripe fruit, vibrant with redcurrants and fine cedar. The essence of Unico is its ageing, and as a result the tannins are are well matured and despite its years it retains a youthful freshness. The wine spent a 18 months in barriques and then a further three and a half years in 220hl tinas (vats), followed by extensive bottle ageing. Drinking window 2021-2031.