Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5º 2013 - 1.5 Litre Bottle

Cropped from an unusually cold and rainy vintage in which they will not bottle unico, the 2013 Valbuena is always released in its fifth year. It's mostly Tempranillo with 5% Merlot that was put through a three- to four-day cold soak in the oak vats where it fermented with indigenous yeasts and was pumped over. It matured in new and used 225-liter French and American oak barriques and also in 20,000-liter oak vats, where the larger vessels respect the fruit, especially in a more fragile vintage like 2013. It's a very elegant and fresh Valbuena with a developed nose, quite classical with a fine texture, elegant tannins and a supple, long finish where the oak is still quite obvious.

Valbuena is the pure expression of a red at Vega Sicilia, with an ageing process, from barrel to bottle, which lasts five years and gives its name: Valbuena 5º (5th).

Both new and used 225-liter French and American oak barrels and 8.500-liter vats are used for a long and complex process for perhaps, the wine which has evolved the most in the last few years.

95 Points - Wine & Spirits     With five years of aging, first in wood, then in bottle, Valbuena 5 is a young wine by Vega-Sicilia’s standards. The most notable characteristic of the 2013 is its density of flavor, ripe, intense and expansive, yet it’s full of detail, with an emphasis on Mediterranean spice and ripe blackberries. Then, the tension of the acidity seems to give an electric charge to the tannins, making it feel radiant and immediately inviting. But don’t: This is a wine for the cellar. Given the heavy rains at harvest in 2013, it’s a remarkably vibrant Valbuena.

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate     Cropped from an unusually cold and rainy vintage in which they will not bottle Único, the 2013 Valbuena is always released in its fifth year. It's mostly Tempranillo with 5% Merlot that was put through a three- to four-day cold soak in the oak vats where it fermented with indigenous yeasts and was pumped over. It matured in new and used 225-liter French and American oak barriques and also in 20,000-liter oak vats, where the larger vessels respect the fruit, especially in a more fragile vintage like 2013. It's a very elegant and fresh Valbuena with a developed nose, quite classical with a fine texture, elegant tannins and a supple, long finish where the oak is still quite obvious. I liked it very much and consider it a triumph over the challenges of the year.

92 Points - Wine Spectator     A polished texture carries focused flavors of cherry, licorice, espresso and mineral in this lithe red. The tannins are firm and well-integrated, the acidity clean and fresh. Has muscle, but remains elegant. Drink now through 2023.