2011 Vega Sicilia - Unico 1,5 l - Magnum - Ribera del Duero DO

Decanter.com – 95 pts – SJE: *Vibrant primary aromas of roses, oranges and fresh herbs lead into a wine full of redcurrant freshness. While 2011 is a more concentrated vintage, the wine is impressively elegant and delicate. Can be enjoyed soon for its structure, yet it will undoubtedly improve with age.* - 09/2022

Falstaff Magazin – 97 pts: *Fleischig-würziges konzentriertes Bukett mit Noten von gedörrten dunklen Beeren, Weichselkirsche und Pflaumenkompott, Anklänge von Möbelpolitur, Milchschokolade, Orangenzeste, Karamell und die Würze eines aromatischen Jus. Am Gaumen geschmeidig, frische Säure, feinstes Tannin und ätherische Anklänge. Frischer, langer Abgang.* - 09/2021

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate – 96 pts - LG: *The Único released in 2021, 10 years after the harvest, is the 2011 Único, selected from 40 of their 210 hectares of vineyards. 2011 is a concentrated and ripe vintage, and they selected 95% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that were cooled in a cold room for 24 hours before being sorted; the bunches and grapes macerated at 9 to 10 degrees Celsius for three to four days, and then it was inoculated with a pied de cuve to ferment with pumping overs. Malolactic was in stainless steel, and the wine was put through a long aging, 10 years between oak and bottle, using new and used French and American oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats. For Vega Sicilia, 2011 was a fresher year than 2010, not the common idea about those vintages in Ribera del Duero. The wine has a developed nose with some notes of ripe black fruit, meat and underbrush, somewhat herbal and perfumed. There is something about the nose of the Únicos that I cannot quite describe but is quite distinct, and it's in this vintage and also in the Reserva Especial. 88,288 bottles, 3,505 magnums, 318 double magnums, 60 Imperial and 3 Salmanazar were produced. The wine was bottled in June 2017.* - 12/2020

JancisRobinson.com – 18++/20pts – JR: *95% Tinto Fino, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Frost-free spring, warm but regular growing season and ‘excellent’ vintage conditions; harvest 15–28 September. Bottled June 2017: 88,288 bottles, 3,505 magnums, 318 double magnums, 60 Impériales and 3 Salmanazars. From magnum. Mellow nose and on the palate there’s a sensation rather akin to chewing charcoal. Hums along on the finish. Like the 2013, this is very much a wine for the future. Lots of fine tannins.* - 09/2022

JamesSuckling.com – 98 pts: *Very ripe with plum, spice and dried-flower aromas, as well as chocolate, fresh flowers and sandalwood. Coffee and hints of meat. Sort of decadent. Full-bodied with round, creamy tannins and an intense, juicy feel. Unique cedar and walnut undertones. So delicious now, but one for the future, too.* - 12/2020

Vinous.com – 96 pts – JR: *Deep, shimmering ruby. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, vanilla, pipe tobacco, exotic spices, cola and potpourri. Deeply concentrated and energetic on the palate, offering smoke-laced black currant, cherry liqueur, spicecake and mocha flavors that display outstanding clarity and pick up a candied violet nuance on the back half. Polished, building tannins frame the finish, whcihc hangs on with outstanding, mineral- and floral-driven tenacity.* - 06/2021