2012 Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5

(aged for five years in new and used French and American oak barriques and vats) Opaque ruby. Primary dark berry and cherry scents are complemented by suggestions of vanilla, coconut, cured tobacco and cedary oak and accented by a suave floral topnote. Sappy, concentrated and expansive in the mouth, offering sweet black raspberry, cherry-vanilla and candied licorice flavors that are supported by a spine of juicy acidity. Unfolds slowly with air, picking up a spicy quality that carries through the very long, gently tannic finish, which echoes the cherry and coconut notes. Hands off this one for at least a few more years.

The 2012 Valbuena was cropped from a vintage with a very dry and warm summer that resulted in very healthy grapes. Since the 2010 vintage, this wine is fermented plot by plot following the findings from a soils study they did. The élevage is in French and American oak barrels that on average lasts some 18 months followed by another 18 months in 20,000-liter oak vats, but of course some lots had more time in barrique and others more time in vat. It has ripe tannins and a powerful mouthfeel but with a soft texture. Even if it's not widely mentioned, it always has had some French grapes, mainly Merlot, but this 2012 is the first Valbuena ever to be really 100% Tempranillo—because the Merlot didn't behave well in this warm and dry year. It follows the path opened by the 2010, more precise and elegant, rounded by that extra time in larger vats to finish polishing the tannins. I find this 2012 halfway between 2010 and 2011. It has depth and elegance, more serious than Alión, which is always the (maybe unfair) comparison. 174,545 bottles and some larger formats were filled in April 2014.

Very good vintage, a warm one, with a longer harvest than usual – about 4.5 weeks. Aged three years in oak and two in bottle, 75-80% French oak, the rest American. The first year – ‘musculation’ the winemaker calls it – in barrique, the second year in bigger oak for blending and the third year back in barrique to ‘revitalise’ the wine before bottling. 90% Tinto Fino and 10% Merlot. Blackish crimson. Initial impression is very dark and savoury fruit. But there is also a very ripe note to the fruit. Super-dry, chalky, compact tannins. All about texutre on the palate. Opens up to a more savoury/sweet note like roasted jacket-potato skins. But floral too. (JH)