VEGA SICILIA 2025 RELEASES
RIBERA DEL DUERO, SPAIN
WHY BUY: This, folks, is a certifiable event: the 2025 vintage release from the legendary Vega Sicilia, which includes a pair of knock-out 100-pointers: their Unico Reserva Especial 2025 (about which Tim Atkin gushed, "wine doesn't get any better than this") and their Unico 2015 (a structural marvel that moved Jeb Dunnuck to declare it "will age for 60 years"). These estate-grown, high-elevation collectibles — aged for many years at their famed cellars in Ribera del Duero, and ready-to-drink right now — exhibit all the trademark traits (impeccable oak integration, structured yet silky tannins, and layered complexity) that has made Vega Sicilia a justly-deserved global icon.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Tim Atkin awarded 100 points to the Unico Reserva Especial 2025, declaring: "wine doesn't get any better than this.” It’s a wine, he wrote, that is "so much more than the sum of its parts. In fact, it's one of the great Vega Sicilias ... layers of sweet spices, tobacco leaf, graphite and liquorice, blackberry and summer berry flavours, granular tannins and an attractive volatile lift." Jeb Dunnuck hung the same perfect, 100-point score on the Unico 2015, praising its "supple, silky tannins and bright acidity. The length and structure are remarkable ... There is tremendous balance between the wine's acidity and freshness and full-bodied power. This will age 60 years.” The two 98-pointers elicited gushing superlatives, too. Dunnuck called the Macan 2020 "a wine of tremendous concentration and gastronomic invitation" with "striking beauty and powerfully elegant core,” while the Wine Enthusiast granted 98 points to the Unico 2013, noting how "it simultaneously offers refinement and power on the palate, with plush tannins that increase in volume and drift away, while purple plum, Mission fig, mocha and star-anise flavors with a hint of mint tea gently ply the palate.”
THE STORY: In our instant-gratification world, Vega Sicilia operates on a different plane entirely. Founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves, it didn't set out just to make good Spanish wine; its aim was nothing less than to rival Bordeaux's greatest châteaux. Chaves's audacious strategy was to plant native Tinto Fino alongside imported Bordeaux varieties, creating a fusion that would become the estate's signature. But the most important decision he made was to be patient. While other producers rushed their wines to market, Vega Sicilia embraced practices that seemed almost perverse in their dedication to time. Consider the flagship Unico, which spends a full decade maturing before release: five years in barrel and vat, then another five in bottle. Holding a wine back for this long would be commercial suicide for most wineries, but at Vega Sicilia, it's simply the cost of perfection.
OUR TASTING NOTES: The great thing about tasting through these 10 was to see just how these wines unfold with deliberate, almost orchestrated complexity, each sip expressing different nuances and dimensions and, above all, the many, many years of patient aging. The texture across the range is consistently rich and velvety, with tannins that feel polished rather than imposed, creating wines that coat the palate without ever feeling heavy. And the depth and length on display is simply stunning: these are finishes that seem to last minutes rather than seconds. The two 100-pointers demonstrate why Vega Sicilia commands such reverence: the Reserva Especial 2025 delivers waves of tobacco, graphite, and dark fruit that build and recede like a virtuosic symphony, while the Unico 2015 feels almost architectural in its precision. The 98-point wines (the Macan 2020, with its rose petal elegance, and the Unico 2013 with its so-so-supple tannins) prove that even Vega Sicilia's lesser-known wines are jewels, of a caliber of winemaking most estates never reach.
THE SPECS: The Unico expressions are a grand showcase of Vega Sicilia's commitment to extended aging: the 2015 underwent five years in barrel and vat plus five in bottle. The Reserva Especial 2025 is a deft and textured blend of three vintages (2011, 2012, and 2013) released after more than a decade of development. The Macan project reflects their Rioja collaboration with Benjamin de Rothschild, with the 2020 vintage aged for 18-20 months in French oak exclusively. As for the Valbuena, Alión, and Pintia expressions: these demonstrate the estate's mastery across different regions and styles; each expression is custom-aged.
FUN FACT: When Pablo Álvarez took over and discovered cork taint affecting some bottles, he didn't just switch suppliers like any rational businessman would. Instead, he planted 50,000 cork trees on the estate to eventually achieve self-sufficiency, a solution that perfectly encapsulates Vega Sicilia's approach to quality control.
OUR GUARANTEE: As always, we only buy and ship directly from the estate, to ensure pristine provenance. Secure your bottles and cases today!
*Offer NOT valid in-store. This offer is made pre-arrival, with wines estimated to be delivered to your preferred store in Winter 2025. All sale prices are the lowest available at Total Wine & More and ONLY valid through Concierge Sales. No further discounts or coupons may be applied. The price reflected on your order form is subject to change after the order is placed in the event of a change in tariffs or taxes that are imposed by the U.S. government, or in the case of currency fluctuations of 10% or greater. Offer not valid in KS, MI, NE, NY, OK, & TN. This offer will expire on Thursday, October 9th, 2025.