Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5 300cl 2019

Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5 2019 is a full-bodied red wine produced from Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) grapes in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. Vega Sicilia was founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves, who established the vineyards with cuttings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec taken from the vineyards of Bordeaux. The estate planted Tempranillo alongside these Bordelais varietals, which now makes up the majority of the modern Vega Sicilia blend. Valbuena is the purest expression of Tinto Fino at Vega Sicilia. The other variety used is Merlot, which is added to a greater or lesser extent depending on the vintage. The 2019 is available here in double-magnum format. "The obsession in 2019 was to avoid excess ripeness and to keep the freshness, so they did a softer vinification, used larger vats for the élévage and used less American wood. The 2019 Valbuena was produced with a blend of Tinto Fino with 3% Merlot. It has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.88 and 4.6 grams of acidity. I love the nose; it is perfumed and subtle. And the wine is beautifully textured; the tannins are very fine, silky even, quite different from the tannins from the other 2019s from the group that I tasted next to this, Macán and Pintia. A triumph over the conditions of the year, it`s a more elegant Valbuena than I anticipated." Luis Gutiérrez, 2024