A Vega Sicilia line up

This week saw the annual tasting of new releases from the Vega Sicilia stable. As ever, it was eagerly anticipated by the Justerini & Brooks team who were keen to get to grips with both the Valbuena 2010 and Unico 2007. The first Unico to be released since the 2004, the 2007 gently bucks the trend of ten years cellar time post-vintage, thus allowing the brooding 2005 to lie dormant a little longer. 2007 was considered a ‘challenging’ vintage; indeed, it mirrored a number of the weather conditions seen in much-maligned 2007 Bordeaux. This necessitated the strictest possible selection of fruit for Unico which is only produced in years when quality allows. Rest assured, on tasting it, our concerns were quickly allayed.

Vega Sicilia is often considered as an estate that tends to overcome the caprices of a given vintage. Speaking with Javier Ausas, chief winemaker and all-around head honcho at the estate, his feeling is that Unico can broadly be described as producing two distinct styles through the years. It either falls into the liberal, opulent, generous style we have seen in vintages such as 2004, or the stricter, elegant style seen in vintages such as 1999. Both absolutely have their place and at their peak produce utterly compelling wines that are recognised as world class. 2007 certainly falls into the latter category. It is full of verve and tension, with a nose of dark and red cherries, violet and lavender, tempered by fresh coffee beans and bitter strawberries, the palate quite reserved, with clear acidity and a firm tannic structure. 

It is also worth mentioning Valbuena 2010 - the little sibling of Unico - which in 2010 is absolutely delicious. Having spent three years in barrel and two years in bottle prior to release, this is the first Valbuena vintage born in Vega’s much discussed state-of-the-art winery. For a complex, layered wine with sweet tannins and bright, open fruit from an outstanding vintage, look no further.

The ensuing lunch with Vega Sicilia in the private dining room of The Wolseley really centred on two bottles; the Reserva Especial 2012 and Unico 1987 from magnum. It is a rare privilege to taste the Reserva Especial, a traditional wine made from a blend of three vintages intended to maintain a consistent Vega style. 15,000 bottles are produced each year and the blended wine spends four years in bottle prior to release. In the case of 2012 the assemblage was made up of 1991, 1994 and 1999, complimentary vintages chosen to emphasise particular aspects of the wine; 1999 for freshness and acidity, 1994 for persistence and weight on the palate, and 1991 for mature, savoury flavours. Sour cherries, strawberry, griotte cherry, violet and dark berries were the fruits, with a structure that was still lively, coiled and [surprisingly] rather young.

On to the magnum of 1987, a vintage that was cut from the same cloth as 2007; high acidity, fresh and perfumed, but as Javier explained it is also a vintage that like 1998 and 1999 can be difficult to understand. When brought to the market these vintages were nervous, tight and a little unfriendly. Time in bottle has helped them soften and put on a little weight. On tasting, the technological advances over the last 20-30 years are clear when one considers the vintage similarities between 1987 and 2007. The controlled maturity of the grapes and clearer studies of Vega’s differing soils and parcels (19 and 64 respectively) have permitted 2007 to potentially become a great wine. The 1987, although seriously complex, has a touch of the wild about it – herby, leathery and spicy, it feels a little wayward and unharnessed and the acidity is still a little high. Naturally, it does however have a very attractive core of sweet and sour cherries, raspberries, blackberries and orange peel with an iron note on the finish. There is no doubt that this is seriously good wine. The ’87 has real character, is a wonderful experience and has remained true to the conditions - and the era - in which it was grown. 

In short, both 1987 & 2007 are of the same style and similar vintages but the ‘07 feels more complete, less wild and more finely tuned – a process indicative of evolution, not revolution. If age really is the great leveller then I sense that ‘07 at 20 years old will prove to be the superior of the two. 

More so than many, Vega Sicilia Unico really does have a style about it. Across vintages the wines display beautiful aromas and purity of fruit, the centerpiece to tertiary, savoury, herbal notes that develop over time. Whether it is an opulent vintage or reticent one, the wines have a clear sense of place and the question is never one of quality. Perhaps this has become a hallmark for this iconic estate, and that which enables it to sit with the very best. 

Mark Dearing
Buying Assistant

Mas Martinet: A glimpse into the 2013 harvest

A beautiful day to start the harvest

Let the picking begin!




Priorat harvest is very slow as all the vineyards are in different locations and different climatic zones.



To introduce the harvest stages it is tradition at Mas Martinet to make paella for all the team as a great start to a new season!



A well deserved break enjoying paella and Mas Martinet wines of course.



Only the very best grapes are selected.



Grenache from Pesseroles going into the Fermenation process.



So far quality this year seems to be really good but not much quantity!

- Magi Batllevell, Mas Martinet, Priorat

Vintage Overview: Spain En Primeur - The latest releases...

A buying trip to Spain can involve an enormous amount of driving. Covering off Rueda, Ribera del Duero and Rioja en route from Madrid to Bilbao you get a real sense of the vastness of the Spanish countryside. Huge sweeping vistas greet you as you crest a cleft in a hill, on almost empty roads with arid dry rocky outcrops and fields of yellow wheat gently swaying in the midday sun.

It is a big country and the third largest wine producing country in the world, which is a tough stat to swallow when on home soil wine consumption is at an all-time low. Anecdotally we were told that in fifteen years average per capita consumption has dropped from around 45 lt/annum to only 9 lt/annum, a fact many attribute to fashion amongst the younger generation, as much as the burgeoning current economic crisis.

Well more fool them. And more for us. It really is no surprise that Spanish wines find great favour abroad. They provide value sound options to consumers at just about every price point, from entry level everyday wines right up to the very upper echelons of worldwide production.

Owing to the diversity of wine Spain has to offer, our En Primeur release comprises a variety of vintages. From 2012 we have the extraordinary Ossian, a wine that marries minerality and richness to superb effect. Coming from vines ranging from 140 – 265 years old, surely some of the oldest wine producing vines on the planet, it’s a wine of nobility and intellect that transcends the appellation of Rueda.

In 2011, most notably we have the two new releases from Aalto, fast becoming one of Ribera del Duero’s and indeed Spain’s hottest properties. In Aalto and Aalto PS 2011 Mariano Garcia and Javier Zaccagnini have crafted two utterly seductive wines that combine richness and generosity with silk textured freshness.  It’s a highly compelling combination.

Further north in Senorio de San Vicente in Rioja the Eguren family poured a selection of wines for us which once again proved just what a class act this estate is across every level of production. Worth especially looking out for are the 2010 Riojas which will go down as classics. At lunch they kindly poured a 1994 San Vicente Rioja which was so gloriously youthful, sweet, precise and refined it stopped this buyer in his tracks and was an amazing argument for sticking these wines away, tempting as they are when young.

Also from 2010 we have the amazing wines of Mas Martinet – 2010 being a vintage every bit as serious in Priorat as it is in Rioja. As well as her best ever Martinet Bru, Sarah Perez’ three highly individual crus offer power combined with spellbinding delicacy and vibrancy. They are truly not to be missed.

All in all there is a lot to be excited by in this Spanish release. We very much look forward to seeing you at the tasting on the 2^nd September.

'Click here to view the 2013 En Primeur offer'

Mas Martinet - Cradle to Grape...

Congratulations to Sara Perez who on the 16th August gave birth to a baby boy. The pictures below show Sara foot crushing the grapes (with one month old in sling) that will make up the as yet unreleased Pesseroles Blanc. Evidently Sara's dedication to the cause shows little sign of abating!

Spain 2009 Vintage - Buying Trip Report

Spain may be a country facing all number of economic problems, but boy does it have some serious winemaking talent. Our most recent trip, a whirlwind tour that involved many hours behind the wheel, took us from Ossian's sandy, pre-phylloxera vineyards in Rueda, up to the wild west of Ribera del Duero, up and futher across to San Vicente in Rioja and then finally all the way east to Catalonia and the hot, dry hills of Priorat.

En route we encountered breathtaking countryside, big skies and huge vistas, soaring buzzards, warm people, old vines and low yields, plenty of delicious ham and even more delicious wine. In what feels like Hemmingway country there are wines being made that offer such pure, ripe, complex, silky seduction it is amazing they are not more highly sought after over here in the UK market.

Arid soils in Ribera del Duero

Three major factors crop up again and again. Old vines, warm, dry, sunny and most importantly disease inhibiting weather, and experimentation. At not a single one of the domaines that we visitied were we not shown something new; a technique, a decision, a new bottling, amphorae, a new training method, straw between the vines to keep the soil cool. Perhaps because the new wave of Spanish winemaking is a relatively recent phenomenon, there is a buzz and a can do/will do attitude to be found that is both infectious and exciting.

In Ribera and Rioja the 2009 vintage has produced silky sumptuous wines that have luscious textures but no lack of freshness. It is a highly successful vintage. Tasting the wines from Aalto, in their wonderfully modern, architectural Bodega, it was hard not to think that this vintage will see them propelled to even greater popularity. Most definitely one to buy En Primeur.

Over in Rioja the Eguren family continue to rule the roost. Held in the highest regard in Spain, yet still relatively unknown over here, they receive about as much critical acclaim as any of our growers. And for good reason. Traditional plantings, often seriously old, even pre-phylloxera, combined with a modernist outlook in the winery gives wonderful results. And as if there Rioja holdings weren't impressive enough, Marcus Eguren continues to rachet up quality levels at their Toro Estate Teso La Monja. Elegance and power combined - this is Tinto de Toro at its most exquisite.

The view from Mas Martinet's Escurcons vineyard. The highest in the region

The hills of Priorat, with their twisty roads and infuriating signage, provide the setting for what must be one of the most dramatic wine regions in the world. Grenache and old Carignan plantings dominate, coming to their absolute best on the crumbly slate "licorella" soils. You see a cross section, with less than a foot of soil before slate begins and you honestly wonder at the vines ability to carve out a life for itself here. This is extreme viticulture, hot and dry, and the results are utterly thrilling. It is also, in it's newest guise, a region of relatively little age, the new wave only beginning in the 1980s, dragging the region out of a period of low economic prosperity. Mas Martinet, Vall Llach and Mas Doix each manipulate a different part of the region. And they all manage to achieve different expressions. In 2009, again hot and dry, there is a certain power to all these priorat wines. Power and intensity. But the greatest benefit the Licorella brings is a mineral spice and freshness to carry that power. This slate, and the clean firm backbone it lends to the wines, really is the essence of Priorat.

Licorella slate heavy soils in Priorat

Excessive talk of the high alcohol content of these wines is to miss the point of their being rooted to and very much of these wild arid hills. A wine harvested prematurely at 13% potential that has not had the chance to fully ripen will never give much pleasure. These great priorats, harvested fully ripe at a degree or two more than that might be alcoholic, but they are also balanced, and profound, and unforgettable.