Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5° 2018

Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5° 2018

Ribera del Duero - Bodegas Vega Sicilia

96/100 James Suckling and 96/100 Parker

When to drink this wine? : 2023 - 2032

Tasted by Luis Gutiérrez in 2023: "The 2018 Valbuena comes from a cooler vintage with good yields that required sorting and selection in search of a cheerful and vertical version of Valbuena, pushing a little more and giving to the wine a little more woody, especially American (5%).It was produced with 96% Tinto Fino and 4% Merlot which underwent a cold soak for three to four days and fermented with indigenous yeasts followed by 'a stainless steel malolactic. Aging took place in new and used 225 liter oak barrels and 21,000 liter oak vats. It has 14.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.8 and 4.78 grams of acidity (tartaric), so it is ripe and with a sweet acidity that gives it a mellow mouthfeel.This is a very spicy vintage for Valbuena, approaching the style of Único (whereas I felt that Toro's 2018 Pintia was close to the aromas of some Valbuena vintages, like 2010. It was a late year with a tendency towards freshness in the wines. The palate is medium to full-bodied, with very fine tannins that make the wine nicely textured and very elegant. There is a lot of regularity in the Valbuena of recent years, here with more tension and freshness from the 2017, a little more balsamic even."

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