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Unico 1962

Bodegas Vega Sicilia, Ribera el Duero, Spain

Bodegas Vega Sicilia
Ribera el Duero Spain
  • 97
    Points
  • The 673 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 25 Pros of
    25 recommend
    this wine
824 97
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    36

  • Producer ranking ?

    5

  • Decanting time

    2h

  • When to drink

    now to 2035

  • Food Pairing

    Roast lamb served medium-rare

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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Parker: The 1962 Vega Sicilia possesses quite astonishing purity on the nose with candied dark cherry fruit, eucalyptus, kirsch and a touch of cinnamon. This is what you might describe as a -perfect bouquet-. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannin, seamless and satin-like in texture: an Unico that is shimmering with untrammeled greatness. Youthful, vivacious and utterly compelling, this is a profound wine that even after four decades...

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The Story

Of the 1,000 hectares making up the Vega Sicilia estate, 210 are used for wine growing, and there are 19 soil-types divided for management purposes into 52 plots with very specific characteristics. The influence of the flow of the river Duero and the passage of time have been vital in forming these soils.

70 of these hectares are employed to produce Unico. A unique, magical estate which, along with extraordinary management of the vineyard, ...

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Wine Information

VEGA SICILIA “Unico” 1962
VARIETIES:TINTO FINO: 70%, CABERNET SAUVIGNON: 20%, MERLOT 10%
 

CLIMATOLOGY:
WINTER: Cold, with high rainfall.
SPRING: Warm. Abundant rainfall.
SUMMER: Hot. Significant period of heat.
HARVEST: Normal. Beginning October. Good weather. Hot.

HISTORY:
This vintage spent its first year in the malolactic fermentation vat. In September 1963, it was transferred to 22,000 litre wooden vats, where it remained for...

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Average Bottle Price

2017 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000 1995
1 374€ +16.9% 1 175€ +20.4% 976€ +37.3% 711€ +12.3% 633€ +11.2% 569€ +11.4% 511€ +24.0% 412€ +95.3% 211€ +71.5% 123€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Full

ending

Long, Flavorful and Smooth

flavors

Blackberry, Vanilla, Cherry and Cedar

nose

Intense

recommend

Yes

taste

Warming, Medium tannin, Complex, Balanced, Well-structured, Developing, Full-bodied, Round, Firm, Vigor and Medium-Sweet

Verdict

Impressive and Well made

Written Notes

The next wine was the final wine for which I took notes. It was all about the Milk Duds, with chocolate and caramel all over its rich and tasty body. There weren’t many moe notes at this point, other than ‘Spanish wine, so delicious, Unico!!!’ And ‘MAG’ with an arrow featuring many ups and downs. Oh, it was a 1962 Vega Sicilia Unico, of course (97M).
-
  • 97p
Excellent looking magnum with by the neck level. Decanted one hour. A very classic Unico nose – cherries, blackberries, vanilla and cedar wood aromas. Still a tannic and youthful wine. Full-bodied with an ideal inherent sense of balance. Very long and complex aftertaste. An absolutely brilliant wine. This great Vega Sicilia Unico 1962 has potential to live for another decade or more.
-
  • 93p

Elegant and refined with lovely firm tannins and structure surrounded by layers of subtle dried black tea leaf flavours and savoury herbs. Long length.

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  • 95p

Intense garnet red colour. Very elegant nose with hints of blackcurrants and prunes, ripe blackberries, mild spices, sweet red peppers, pencil shavings, graphite, developing an opulent and persistent character. With some oxygen the 1962 develops a slightly smoky character. On the palate fine structure, ripe and mild tannins, elegant acidity, great length an depth with an excellent finish with a creamy texture. A great wine with freshness and still some potential for future evolution.

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  • 99p

1962 Vega Sicilia – I don´t know what it is with this wine but there´s nothing quite like it. It was one of a kind for a long time when no one else was making wine on a serious level in Ribera del Duero. And, tasting it today it´s still very much one of a kind, there will never ever be anyone else coming close to this in terms of style and character, and, looking at the wine world today, there´s easy to make good wine but, making a wine of distinction, personality and class – very difficult. Thus Vega Sicilia is not only one of the greatest wines of Spain, but one of the legends of the world!

-

Deep ruby. Intense, detailed, layered, exotic, dark fruits, spices, figs, leather, massive nose, seductive and flirting. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, explodes in the mouth, dark fruits, exotic, superb structure and flavours, perfect balance, minutes of length. 100

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  • 100p
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Information

Origin

Valbuena, Ribera el Duero

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Excellent

Fake factory

None

Glass time

1h

Inside Information

Once upon a time as I was walking the narrow side streets of Rincon, a seashore town east of Malaga, I spotted a very promising looking wine shop. I had been looking for old Unicos on my previous trips to Spain without success, but once again I decided to try my luck. Inside, I found one Unico 1985 on the shelf, but that was all. I took a little time to look at what other interesting bottles the dusty shelves might hold, and in a far corner, high up on the last shelf I discovered a small wooden case. On tiptoe I managed to get it down, and as I blew away the dust the text on it revealed: Unico 1962 Magnum - my own birth year. The smile on my face grew even wider as the owner told he had for years assumed the case was empty, and would now happily sell it to me for the original price. The bottle itself was good as new, as was the buyer.

In Spain the climate conditions in 1962 had all the characteristics of a great year: cold winter and mild spring with high pluviometry. During the hot summer there were great thermal fluctuations between day and night, a phenomena which contributes to the mark of a great vintage. The harvest took place under excellent temperature conditions and sunny skies. Because of the excellent climate conditions the harvesting began at the beginning of October. The result was very good, and it was possible to bottle 87.600 bordelais bottles and  2.000 magnums.

 “The Unico wine is produced only in exceptional years, that is, in the course of one decade two or three vintages are "sacrificed" in order to maintain the high quality. It is right that the effect of the harvest is present in each wine: then the -81, -74, -75, -66 and -65 are Unicos in aromatical complexity reaching baroque extremes and the -70, -89, -62, -42 and -22 ones are based on the tannic power reaching to be perpetual wine” , said Mr. Alvarez to me when I asked his personal opinion about other vintages that might reach up to the level of the 1962 vintage.

As I turned 40 I held a 1962 tasting for my friends. We tasted 36 best wines from that year, among them Pétrus, Grange, Latour, Lafite-Rothschild and Mouton. The best wine of the night with an average of 97 points turned out to be just this Unico! My notes were then: 

Very classic Unico nose – cherries, blackberries, vanilla and cedar wood aromas as well as flavours. Very tannic, sweet and youthful wine. Full bodied and with an ideal inherent sense of balance. Very long and complex aftertaste.

An absolutely brilliant and royal wine. As a living being which it is, the wine is not eternal, but in the case of a great wine like the Bodegas Vega Sicilia Unico 1962,  it has potential to enjoy one decade more.

PN

 

 

 

eRobertParker.com #202
Aug 2012		 Neal Martin 100 Drink: 2012 - 2020 $903-$1179
The 1962 Vega Sicilia possesses quite astonishing purity on the nose with candied dark cherry fruit, eucalyptus, kirsch and a touch of cinnamon. This is what you might describe as a -perfect bouquet-. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannin, seamless and satin-like in texture: an Unico that is shimmering with untrammeled greatness. Youthful, vivacious and utterly compelling, this is a profound wine that even after four decades is surfeit with precocity. Undoubtedly, this must be one of the greatest Spanish wines to have graced this planet. 87,600 bottles produced. Drink now-2020+ Tasted January 2012.
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