Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5 2018

Valbuena 5º is an excellent "Tinto Fino" (synonymous with Tempranillo in Ribera del Duero), to which, depending on the vintage, a greater or lesser proportion of Merlot has been added.

Robert Parker 95 James Suckling 97

Supplied in original wooden box

The wine is spontaneously fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. After the malolactic fermentation, the wine is then aged in new and used French and American casks of various sizes, and then finally rests for 5 years in bottle before release, which has given the wine its name, Valbuena 5º.

The fruit aromas include, in addition to the red berry fruits, a touch of raisin. The taste reflects the aromas in that the wine is full-bodied and ripe with soft tannins that support the soft fruit notes. Currants, exotic spices and baked berry notes fill the aftertaste.

Valbuena 5º has in recent years, as fruit and freshness mean more and more to our experience of quality, moved closer to the two top wines from Vega Sicilia, and in January 2023 it moved up for the 3rd time to the side of and past Vega Sicilia Único. It happened when Luis Gutiérrez, who is Robert Parker's husband in Spain, tasted the wine and at the same time was invited to a vertical tasting of no less than 25 years of Único, where this Valbuena 5º with 95 points overtook Único 2011, 2008, 2003, 2002 , 2000, 1998, 1990, 1987, 1983, 1982, 1979, 1976, 1975, 1972 and 1965.