The foundations of these traditions may be found as far back as 1859, when Don Eloy Lecanda Chaves was gifted an estate by his wealthy father. Included were two adjacent plots of land, one of which was the Vega Sicilia estate. The origins of the Vega Sicilia winery are officially regarded as 1864, which was when Don Eloy Lecanda Chaves returned from his travels in Bordeaux with vine cuttings, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Carmenere - all of which were found in Bordeaux at that time - and, curiously, some Pinot Noir. Who on earth had this grape of Burgundy for sale in Bordeaux? The answer is not known. Regardless, the cuttings were duly propagated and planted at Vega Sicilia, although the Carmenere and Pinot Noir are no longer found in the Vega Sicilia vineyards.
Things did not initially go well, however, and the estate did not develop the reputation it enjoys today. By 1903 full ownership was obtained by Antonio Herrero, who, together with winery manager Domingo Garramiola, brought Vega Sicilia to the fore, winning a number of awards, and enjoying an international distribution. Time marched on, however, and the estate changed hands several more times before it's acquisition by the current owners, the Alvarez family, in 1982.
Like all great wines, Vega Sicilia begins in the vineyard. The Tempranillo is trained in goblet fashion, whereas the French varieties are trained in a Guyot system. Green harvesting is employed ruthlessly in order to control yields, and the harvest itself is meticulous (see notes on individual wines below for more information on the incredibly low yields, harvest dates and other practices). In the winery, such a massive wine will withstand many years in wood and Unico sees a complicated series of rackings from huge barrels to new oak, to used American oak, back to new oak again, and on it goes. Winemaker Xavier Ausas refers to these stages somewhat romantically as "muscularisation", "education", "recuperation" and so on. Whatever these phases are called, Unico certainly receives very prolonged barrel ageing, with the 1970 seeing over sixteen years! And yet these are not washed out, stretched, overly oaky wines when mature, testimony to the quality of the raw materials on which they are based.
The Vega Sicilia range has been rationalised from four to three four cuvées. Leading the pack are the Unico ("unique"), which is always of gran reserva quality, and a fascinating non-vintage blend named Reserva Especial. In addition there is a second wine, Valbueno 5°. This is always of reserva quality, the 5° designates that the cuvée has been aged for five years before release. Although there is great respect for tradition at Vega Sicilia, there is also innovation. Most notably, the purchase of the nearby Alion estate so that Vega Sicilia could also produce a high quality wine for drinking young, without detracting from the fruit supply for Unico. Finally there is the very special small production from the Toro region, this is called Pintia.
Wines available through HarperWells
2008 Releases – prices listed underbond. Duty, VAT & Carriage where appropriate to be added to delivered prices.
Vega Sicilia VALBUENA 2003 Case of 12 bottles
£748 under bond
Vega Sicilia VALBUENA 2003 Magnums
£132 under bond
<<Link to PDF>>
Vega Sicilia UNICO 1998 Case of 12 bottles
£1684 under bond
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Vega Sicilia UNICO 1994 Magnums
£340 under bond
Vega Sicilia UNICO 1996 Case of 12 bottles
£1684 under bond
Vega Sicilia RESERVA ESPECIAL Non Vintage (2008 blend) 3 bottle case
£448 under bond
Alion 2004 Case of 12 bottles
£343 under bond
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Alion 2004 Magnums
£75 under bond
Pintia 2005 Case of 12 bottles
£280 under bond
<Link to PDF>
Pintia 2005 magnums
£54 under bond
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