Vega Sicilia Único 2013 is the flagship red of Spain’s most prestigious estate, crafted from 97% Tempranillo (Tinto Fino) and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Long aged in a mix of barrels and large oak vats before bottling, it shows remarkable elegance and depth for a challenging vintage. Notes of dark cherry, plum, graphite, and subtle balsamic mingle with fine, silky tannins and vibrant freshness. A timeless Ribera del Duero classic with decades of aging potential.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 98
Published: Sep 6, 2022

This has a polished and complex nose of poached plums, dark cherries, tea leaves, graphite, milk chocolate and a touch of caramel. It's medium-to full-bodied with firm yet creamy tannins. Caressing, seductive and ripe, but with underlying freshness. 97% tempranillo and 3% cabernet sauvignon. Tasted from magnum. The normal bottle will be released 2023 and the magnum in 2025. Try after 2023. 

The Wine Advocate | RP 97
Published: Jan 31, 2023
Drink: 2023-2035

I had already tasted the 2013 Unico from magnum in a vertical tasting of all the magnums ever produced and was quite impressed by it (and the still unreleased 2014 that should be available in 2024). 2013 saw a rainy harvest, and the wine is subtle, elegant and fresh, complex, silky and with precision. The wine matured in 225-liter barrels in an initial phase and then in 22,000-liter oak vats until it was bottled in June 2019. This year, the final blend was 97% Tinto Fino and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon with a little less alcohol, 14%, and a pH of 3.78 and 5.2 grams of acidity, fresh and balanced, more elegant and subtler. Unico often transcends the character of the vintage and doesn't follow the norm in the region, and the 2013 is a good example of that. It was a very rainy and complicated vintage; they harvested quite quickly to avoid botrytis, and while other people waited for concentration, they did not, and their approach clearly paid back. It's aromatic and floral, less dense than the 2012, subtler, more expressive and more elegant. It's clean and fresh, tasty, with very fine tannins. It's a big surprise for the vintage and one of the finest Unicos in the last few years. 76,476 bottles, 3,658 magnums and some larger formats produced, the shortest crop since 2009.

Vega Sicilia has increased the capacity to age wine in large oak vats to 75,000 liters and are making a detailed study of their non-saccharomyces yeasts. They are the most prestigious winery in Spain and one of the creators of the Ribera del Duero appellation. They work 210 hectares of vineyards in 55 separate plots and produce between 240,000 and 325,000 bottles, depending on the conditions of the vintage.

I tasted the wines to be released during 2023, and I also tasted all the Único magnums ever produced, which are published in a separate article. I was very pleasantly surprised by the 2013 Único.

Decanter | D 93
Published: Sep 6, 2022
Drink: 2028-2050

Look out for this on release, with its typical aromatics of red berries, violets and balsamic. It’s young, no doubt, entering with redcurrant fruit and underneath a bold line of tannin. It reflects the complicated vintage, but will come through in time. Cool rainy spring, normal summer with ‘the odd storm’, before a rainy end to the harvest. Yield 25.2hl/ha. Aged one year in new barrels, six months in used barrels, then 42 months in large-format vats. 76,476 bottles, 3,658 magnums, 362 double magnums, 59 Imperials and six Salmanazars. Tasted from magnum.
Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 14.00%
Body: Full
Oak: Oaked
Grapes: 3% Cabernet Sauvignon 97% Tempranillo / Tinto Fino

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 17.5
Published: Jan 24, 2023
Drink: 2023-2035

97% Tempranillo, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. For the first part of ageing they use 15–30% US oak and used oak can be 30–50% of all used. They have one sent of tanks for malo and others for ageing. Winemaker Gonzalo Iturriaga described 2013 as ‘a horrible vintage with plenty of rot’. The DO called it ‘normal’, their lowest ranking. They picked quite early and the wine is much more open than the 2012. They tried for finesse and complexity. The more structured lots always go into Único. Some wine goes back into used barrels and they use lots of US oak for this sort of vintage. In the third year of ageing they make another assemblage which goes into vat for three more years. They want to rack only once a year and may blend in up to 15% of other, younger vintages to refresh the blend. Then it goes into bottle for 4.5 years. Quite small production because of their strict selection. Iturriaga says he feels more responsible for this 2013 than his predecessor Xavier Ausàs, who oversaw it for only three years!
Nose lacks the usual magic intensity of Único. A little tighter and less rich than usual but there’s a fantastic texture. More accessible than some and there is certainly the expected intensity of fruit though it’s currently a bit dry on the end.

Temposvegasicilia.com

210 of the almost 1,000 hectares on the Vega Sicilia estate are used for vine growing, which include 19 different types of soil and 64 plots with very specific characteristics. The influence of the course of the Douro River and time itself have played a key role in the notable use of these soils.

The rainy end to the harvest left its imprint on the wine from this vintage. 2013 was a year to spend time in the vineyard, tend to it with care, and not rest on your laurels during harvest. A more elegant, subtle, and complex profile. The grapes are harvested from the 40 hectares used to produce Unico, a wine that ages at least ten years between barrel and bottle, representing one of the world's longest ageing processes. For the first phase, we used 225-litre French and American oak barrels to start to structure the wine; the second phase involved using 22,000-litre wooden vats. A long, complex, yet wonderful wine construction, during which they obtain endless nuances, definition, texture, and depth over time. This incredible terroir and the unique ageing process make our wines timeless when they aged.

2013 is a subtle, elegant, fresh, vertical, complex, silky, and well-defined vintage. This wine is a true paradox, enjoyable to drink now, but timeless when allowed to age in bottle.

General information
Alcohol by volume 14 %
Variety 97 % Tinto Fino and 3 % Cabernet-Sauvignon
Average age of vineyard 33 years
Vineyard surface area 210 ha (Finca Vega Sicilia)
Planting density 2,222 plants/ha
Altitude 700 - 900 m
Yield 3,600 kg/ha - 25.2 Hl/ha
Harvest Hand-picked in 12 kg crates from 27 September to 17 October