D
95
Decanter
JS
96
James Suckling
RP
96
Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
Photos are for display purposes only and may have an out-of-date vintage, bottle shape or label.
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Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5º 2017

17 units available online.
Product description
A wine that shows the splendour of each vintage based on the wisdom of the past and the wealth of the present. A mellow, passionate living style that, year after year, challenge after challenge, harvest after harvest, reinterprets its style to keep its essence intact. Valbuena, is the purest expression of the Tinto Fino in Vega Sicilia.

96 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2017 was marked by the frost of the night between April 27 and 28 that Vega Sicilia fought with their anti-frost towers. The end of the season was warm, and the overall rain was low, 235 litres. The 2017 Valbuena is marked by these circumstances, produced with 94% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 6% Merlot, with good ripeness (14.5% alcohol) and mellow acidity (4.65 grams of tartaric acid and a pH of 3.85). The grapes were cooled down, and took three to four days of maceration to start fermenting with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured in a combination of new and used French and American 225-litre oak barrels and 21,000-liter oak vats for almost three years. The result, for whatever reason, was nothing short of spectacular. The wine is aromatic, floral, expressive and balsamic like a few vintages. It doesn't feel like 2017 at all. It is harmonious, and the tannins were fine. It's an amazing Valbuena that transcends the character of the vintage. I see here that since 2010, the wine has had very high consistency, and in 2017 it excels.

96 Points - James Suckling

This shows beautiful aromas of blackberries, violets and sandalwood with vanilla undertones. Full-bodied with racy tannins and gorgeous fruit. Linear and very long. Slightly chewy. It needs time to come together, but already of excellent quality. Drink after 2023.

95 Points - Decanter

Proof that in a tough year, with memorable frosts and summer heat, top producers can be relied on to produce fine wines. 2017 jumps out of the glass with cherry and redcurrant conserve and flowers. It enters fresh, with succulent cranberry fruit, finally finishing with dark fruits embedded in mocha and spicy fenugreek. Complete. Following the Vega Sicilia pattern, it spent its first year in barriques (20% American, 40% French) and then the second year in the impressive army of 80-220hl times (wooden vats).