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Tasting notes
70% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and Malbec. After 12 months in large wooden tanks the wine was aged a further 8 months in new casks, then 24 months in used casks. 60,750 bottles, 2,000 magnums and 60 double magnums From magnum. Sweet and clean and fresh. Vital and exciting. Great balance. Everything in its place. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Spain's most consistently great winery continues to turn out exciting wines. There are four Unico Reservas currently in the market. The 1985 Unico Reserva is already revealing considerable complexity and low acid, plump, round, rich flavors. There is no amber to be found in the wine's deep ruby/purple color. The nose offers tobacco, smoke, tar, and gobs of sweet black cherry fruit aromas. Full-bodied, with a layered, nuanced character, high glycerin (hence the sweetness in the flavors), and a lush, round, generously-endowed finish, this is a substantial as well as elegant, savory style of Unico Reserva that can be drunk now and over the next 15+ years. Importer: A Christopher Cannan Selection, Europvin USA, Watertown, MA; tel. (617) 924-7620
Spain's most consistently great winery continues to turn out exciting wines. There are four Unico Reservas currently in the market. The 1985 Unico Reserva is already revealing considerable complexity and low acid, plump, round, rich flavors. There is no amber to be found in the wine's deep ruby/purple color. The nose offers tobacco, smoke, tar, and gobs of sweet black cherry fruit aromas. Full-bodied, with a layered, nuanced character, high glycerin (hence the sweetness in the flavors), and a lush, round, generously-endowed finish, this is a substantial as well as elegant, savory style of Unico Reserva that can be drunk now and over the next 15+ years. Importer: A Christopher Cannan Selection, Europvin USA, Watertown, MA; tel. (617) 924-7620 Wine Advocate.April, 1998
The 1985 Único comes from an era where I feel that Vega Sicilia was not firing on all cylinders, unlike the 1960s, or indeed post-2000. This has a potent nose of plush red fruit laced with mocha, dark chocolate and sage. This has fine definition, yet it lacks the amplitude of the very best vintages that I have encountered. The palate is well built with layers of glycerine-rich red berry fruit commingling with tobacco and light bacon/Italian meat notes. Quite grippy on the finish, though without the precision one might expect, this represents a satisfying though not sensational Unico. Tasted twice at Noble Rot restaurant in London, then blind at the Domaine de Chevalier "5" soirée.
About the producer
Vega Sicilia is undoubtably Spain’s most famous winery; a true icon in fine wine with a history dating back to 1864.