Originally posted 3/21/02
Got together with Gerry Dawes last night and many of the same rascals that I recently had the pleasure of sharing some Chaves with for another evening of vertical madness. On the menu last night were thirteen vintages of Vega Sicilia nico paired with the absolutely scrumptious food and excellent service of Marichu, a Basque restaurant located near the UN.
The wines poured last night were the 89 (unreleased), 87 (about to be released), 86, 85, 81, 79, 75, 74, 73, 70, 68, 64 and 62.
As with the Chaves, there is a certain consistency to these wine, but I found more of the same theme in the Chaves than I did in the Vegas. Where I found the greatest consistency is in what I viewed as the better wines in the group. If there was an overwhelmingly obvious trait, it was the spicy impact of the oak treatment, but even that was not so constant. In a few instances, the wines had a very dominant mintiness, rather than a bakers spice/cedary edge to it.
At times, the wines were truly momentous. The wines from 75 and earlier, with the exception of a not particularly good 73, were sensational, with 75, 70 and 64 being truly exceptional wines and amongst the best wines Ive ever tasted. Interestingly, most of those wines showed a touch of volatile acidity. The younger wines did not inspire me as much, with the exception of the 81, but given their youth and the track record of the wines, its a bit unfair to expect them to show the way the wines 10-20 years older, did.
It was great having Gerry with us. Aside from his great stories and wit, he also generously provided more than his fair share of wines to the tasting and shared his tremendous wealth of knowledge about the wines and winery with us, as well as about Spain in general, which made the tasting most informative and truly memorable.
It should also be noted that with the exception of the 64 and 62, all of the wines were made by Mariano Garcia, who is now the owner/winemaker of Bodegas Mauro.
On to the wines, which are listed in order tasted.
Brad
1989 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva (Unreleased)
My, my. What a knockout of a nose. Ultra ripe and sweet black fruit, blackberries, chocolaty oak, rare meat, violets and tar billow out of the glass. Rich and formidable on the palate, but also showing a lot of youthful ungainliness. Theres a good dose of oak here, but theres more than enough sweet fruit here to handle it. Tar is more pronounced on the palate than on the nose. The wine does drop off on the finish rather dramatically, but with further aging, the wine should sort itself out. Low A- now, but theres excellent potential here.
1987 Marqus de Murrieta-Castillo Ygay- Rioja, Gran Reserva Especial
Served blind as a ringer, the wine shows considerably older than either the 89 nico that preceded it and the 87 nico that followed it. Rustic on the nose and palate with brown things dominating. Root spices, citrus, earth, leather and sandalwood abound with only a very faint hearing from the tart cherries. Too much citrusy acidity for my tastes and the wine finishes a bit too dry. Low B.
1987 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva (about to be released)
Shows a lot tighter and more muted on the nose and palate than it did when I tried it this past October. It shows a very similar character in the pure red fruits, meat, herbs, earth and spicy oak, but its not as out in the open. Tannins are very firm and theres excellent acidic balance. Id let this bottle slumber and when it re-awakens, the wine will be more about elegance than power as its clearly shown that disposition here as well as in October. A-.
1986 Pesquera- Ribera del Duero- Cosecha Especiale
Another blind ringer. I really liked the nose. Its an intriguing blend of oyster sauce, earth funk, horse, spice and a touch of mint. On the palate, however, the wine has fallen apart. The fruit has departed, and the oak now rules. Hollow and austere. C+.
1986 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
75% Tinto Fino, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. 63,000 btls. prod.
Starts off with dominant herbal and vegetal aromas which I did not particularly enjoy, but air and swirling eventual coaxed some sweet red cherry and spice aromas up which were much more enjoyable. On the palate, this is no blockbuster, but more of a suave wine. There are very nice materials there, but theyre under-stated, pure and clean. Has excellent balance with elevated acid levels. I would imagine this wine, though not as impressive as the following 85, may actually age more gracefully. A-/B+.
1985 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70& Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot & Malbec. 61,000 btls. prod.
Darker than the 86 and with much more presence on the nose and palate. Heady and ripe with roasted black fruit, chocolate, spice and tar flavors and aromas. Texturally thick. While quite pleasurable to drink, it lacks the balance of many of the wines that were tasted. Relatively low acid and the oak does stick out a touch. Still, its a delicious drink. A-.
1981 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
65% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot & Malbec. 77,000 btls. prod.
The epitome of balance. The black fruit is ripe, but not over ripe, the wine is both elegant and forceful. Theres terrific integration and balance. Delicious sweet black fruit, spicy cedary oak, chocolate, licorice and dried herbs. A real pleasure. A.
1979 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
60% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot & Malbec. 42,000 btls. prod.
Earth funk and lots of mint on the nose. Extremely acidic on the palate with way too high a mint content for me to enjoy. Precious little fruit, hollow and drying. Dont know if its a bad bottle, or indicative of the vintage. Not good. C+.
1975 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70% Tinto Fino, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Malbec & Albillo. 45,000 btls. prod.
Roasted red fruit, earth, beef, bakers spices and leather aromas and flavors. A real tour de force on the palate. Massive without any sense of pretension. Its dense yet wonderfully balanced. Integrated and multi-layered and still showing a young side. Terrific wine. Solid A.
1974 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70% Tinto Fino, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. 63,500 btls. prod.
Less fruit and much more herb than the 75 on the nose. Theres a neat cinnamony spiciness to it as well as cedar and red fruit perfume. Dainty in comparison to the 75, but it has a charming personality. Well balanced. I really enjoy the spiciness to this wine. A-.
1973 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
60% Tinto Fino, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, Malbec & Albillo. 90,000 btls. prod.
Beef bouillon, light tomato, cherry and spice on the nose. Light on the palate and lacking fruit. Spice and mint dominate. Highly acidic. Better than the 79. Low B-.
1970 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot & Malbec. 95,000 btls. prod.
Wowsers! This bottle is showing even better than the spectacular bottle I had in December. This bottle, though showing similar aromatics and flavors, is much more ebullient and simply more profound. Roasted red raspberries that have almost a liqueur-like quality to it, sweet cherries, meat, game, brown spices, earth and a dash of eucalyptus. Theres a touch of volatility to it, but its not a problem. In fact, it help gives the wine a lively freshness. Tremendous depth and balance. Stunning. A+.
1968 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot & Malbec. 45,000 btls. prod.. Mariano Garcias first vintage at Vega.
Almost like a dry port on the nose and palate with its overripe black fruit, chocolate, spice, licorice and slight whiff of alcohol. Theres a touch of volatile acidity, but not so much as to be a bother. Dark and firmly tannic with a bit of an austere streak. While the fruit is rich and enjoyable, I find the wine lacks the depth, complexity and integration of say the 70, 75, 64 and 81. Still, its just an exercise in nit-picking. Its an excellent wine, but there were better wines poured. A-.
1964 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
65% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, Malbec & Albillo. 96,000 btls. prod.
Perhaps the most intriguing and enjoyable nose of the evening. Vietnamese fish sauce, espresso, cloves and other sweet baking spices, sweet red fruit, toasted coconut and earth. As with the previous two wines, theres an inoffensive touch of volatile acidity. Fairly low acid in the mouth, but tannic. Similar flavors as aromas and everything is well-integrated. Does a rope a dope in the mouth with powerful blows followed by the caress of silky elegance. A complete wine. Solid A.
1962 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot. 87,600 btls. prod.
A bit raisiny on the nose with overripe raspberries, brown spices and wood. Same flavors as aromas with a touch of VA. While enjoyable, it seems a little dull on the palate, especially in comparison to the three previous wines. Nothing particularly wrong with it. The wines just in a tough field. A-.
1945 Ferris- Tontilla de Rota
This is the second time Ive been lucky enough to try this dessert wine. The story Ive heard about this wine is that Ferris was experimenting at the time and made this Sherry out of their finest red grapes, but that they were not all normally used in making Sherry. Due to wartime shortages, most of the grapes were consumed. However, one barrel was apparently made and forgotten in their cellar until the mid-70s, when it was bottled. In any case, the wine is absolutely stunning. Thick as syrup and intensely sweet, though not cloying in the least thanks to vibrant, orange citrusy acidity. Complex and layered with decadent prune, molasses, espresso, citrus and raspberry flavors and aromas. It has an endless finish that I can still taste. Simply decadent stuff and a real treat. A+.
Got together with Gerry Dawes last night and many of the same rascals that I recently had the pleasure of sharing some Chaves with for another evening of vertical madness. On the menu last night were thirteen vintages of Vega Sicilia nico paired with the absolutely scrumptious food and excellent service of Marichu, a Basque restaurant located near the UN.
The wines poured last night were the 89 (unreleased), 87 (about to be released), 86, 85, 81, 79, 75, 74, 73, 70, 68, 64 and 62.
As with the Chaves, there is a certain consistency to these wine, but I found more of the same theme in the Chaves than I did in the Vegas. Where I found the greatest consistency is in what I viewed as the better wines in the group. If there was an overwhelmingly obvious trait, it was the spicy impact of the oak treatment, but even that was not so constant. In a few instances, the wines had a very dominant mintiness, rather than a bakers spice/cedary edge to it.
At times, the wines were truly momentous. The wines from 75 and earlier, with the exception of a not particularly good 73, were sensational, with 75, 70 and 64 being truly exceptional wines and amongst the best wines Ive ever tasted. Interestingly, most of those wines showed a touch of volatile acidity. The younger wines did not inspire me as much, with the exception of the 81, but given their youth and the track record of the wines, its a bit unfair to expect them to show the way the wines 10-20 years older, did.
It was great having Gerry with us. Aside from his great stories and wit, he also generously provided more than his fair share of wines to the tasting and shared his tremendous wealth of knowledge about the wines and winery with us, as well as about Spain in general, which made the tasting most informative and truly memorable.
It should also be noted that with the exception of the 64 and 62, all of the wines were made by Mariano Garcia, who is now the owner/winemaker of Bodegas Mauro.
On to the wines, which are listed in order tasted.
Brad
1989 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva (Unreleased)
My, my. What a knockout of a nose. Ultra ripe and sweet black fruit, blackberries, chocolaty oak, rare meat, violets and tar billow out of the glass. Rich and formidable on the palate, but also showing a lot of youthful ungainliness. Theres a good dose of oak here, but theres more than enough sweet fruit here to handle it. Tar is more pronounced on the palate than on the nose. The wine does drop off on the finish rather dramatically, but with further aging, the wine should sort itself out. Low A- now, but theres excellent potential here.
1987 Marqus de Murrieta-Castillo Ygay- Rioja, Gran Reserva Especial
Served blind as a ringer, the wine shows considerably older than either the 89 nico that preceded it and the 87 nico that followed it. Rustic on the nose and palate with brown things dominating. Root spices, citrus, earth, leather and sandalwood abound with only a very faint hearing from the tart cherries. Too much citrusy acidity for my tastes and the wine finishes a bit too dry. Low B.
1987 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva (about to be released)
Shows a lot tighter and more muted on the nose and palate than it did when I tried it this past October. It shows a very similar character in the pure red fruits, meat, herbs, earth and spicy oak, but its not as out in the open. Tannins are very firm and theres excellent acidic balance. Id let this bottle slumber and when it re-awakens, the wine will be more about elegance than power as its clearly shown that disposition here as well as in October. A-.
1986 Pesquera- Ribera del Duero- Cosecha Especiale
Another blind ringer. I really liked the nose. Its an intriguing blend of oyster sauce, earth funk, horse, spice and a touch of mint. On the palate, however, the wine has fallen apart. The fruit has departed, and the oak now rules. Hollow and austere. C+.
1986 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
75% Tinto Fino, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. 63,000 btls. prod.
Starts off with dominant herbal and vegetal aromas which I did not particularly enjoy, but air and swirling eventual coaxed some sweet red cherry and spice aromas up which were much more enjoyable. On the palate, this is no blockbuster, but more of a suave wine. There are very nice materials there, but theyre under-stated, pure and clean. Has excellent balance with elevated acid levels. I would imagine this wine, though not as impressive as the following 85, may actually age more gracefully. A-/B+.
1985 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70& Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot & Malbec. 61,000 btls. prod.
Darker than the 86 and with much more presence on the nose and palate. Heady and ripe with roasted black fruit, chocolate, spice and tar flavors and aromas. Texturally thick. While quite pleasurable to drink, it lacks the balance of many of the wines that were tasted. Relatively low acid and the oak does stick out a touch. Still, its a delicious drink. A-.
1981 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
65% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot & Malbec. 77,000 btls. prod.
The epitome of balance. The black fruit is ripe, but not over ripe, the wine is both elegant and forceful. Theres terrific integration and balance. Delicious sweet black fruit, spicy cedary oak, chocolate, licorice and dried herbs. A real pleasure. A.
1979 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
60% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot & Malbec. 42,000 btls. prod.
Earth funk and lots of mint on the nose. Extremely acidic on the palate with way too high a mint content for me to enjoy. Precious little fruit, hollow and drying. Dont know if its a bad bottle, or indicative of the vintage. Not good. C+.
1975 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70% Tinto Fino, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Malbec & Albillo. 45,000 btls. prod.
Roasted red fruit, earth, beef, bakers spices and leather aromas and flavors. A real tour de force on the palate. Massive without any sense of pretension. Its dense yet wonderfully balanced. Integrated and multi-layered and still showing a young side. Terrific wine. Solid A.
1974 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70% Tinto Fino, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. 63,500 btls. prod.
Less fruit and much more herb than the 75 on the nose. Theres a neat cinnamony spiciness to it as well as cedar and red fruit perfume. Dainty in comparison to the 75, but it has a charming personality. Well balanced. I really enjoy the spiciness to this wine. A-.
1973 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
60% Tinto Fino, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, Malbec & Albillo. 90,000 btls. prod.
Beef bouillon, light tomato, cherry and spice on the nose. Light on the palate and lacking fruit. Spice and mint dominate. Highly acidic. Better than the 79. Low B-.
1970 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot & Malbec. 95,000 btls. prod.
Wowsers! This bottle is showing even better than the spectacular bottle I had in December. This bottle, though showing similar aromatics and flavors, is much more ebullient and simply more profound. Roasted red raspberries that have almost a liqueur-like quality to it, sweet cherries, meat, game, brown spices, earth and a dash of eucalyptus. Theres a touch of volatility to it, but its not a problem. In fact, it help gives the wine a lively freshness. Tremendous depth and balance. Stunning. A+.
1968 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot & Malbec. 45,000 btls. prod.. Mariano Garcias first vintage at Vega.
Almost like a dry port on the nose and palate with its overripe black fruit, chocolate, spice, licorice and slight whiff of alcohol. Theres a touch of volatile acidity, but not so much as to be a bother. Dark and firmly tannic with a bit of an austere streak. While the fruit is rich and enjoyable, I find the wine lacks the depth, complexity and integration of say the 70, 75, 64 and 81. Still, its just an exercise in nit-picking. Its an excellent wine, but there were better wines poured. A-.
1964 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
65% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, Malbec & Albillo. 96,000 btls. prod.
Perhaps the most intriguing and enjoyable nose of the evening. Vietnamese fish sauce, espresso, cloves and other sweet baking spices, sweet red fruit, toasted coconut and earth. As with the previous two wines, theres an inoffensive touch of volatile acidity. Fairly low acid in the mouth, but tannic. Similar flavors as aromas and everything is well-integrated. Does a rope a dope in the mouth with powerful blows followed by the caress of silky elegance. A complete wine. Solid A.
1962 Vega Sicilia- Ribera del Duero, nico Reserva
70% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot. 87,600 btls. prod.
A bit raisiny on the nose with overripe raspberries, brown spices and wood. Same flavors as aromas with a touch of VA. While enjoyable, it seems a little dull on the palate, especially in comparison to the three previous wines. Nothing particularly wrong with it. The wines just in a tough field. A-.
1945 Ferris- Tontilla de Rota
This is the second time Ive been lucky enough to try this dessert wine. The story Ive heard about this wine is that Ferris was experimenting at the time and made this Sherry out of their finest red grapes, but that they were not all normally used in making Sherry. Due to wartime shortages, most of the grapes were consumed. However, one barrel was apparently made and forgotten in their cellar until the mid-70s, when it was bottled. In any case, the wine is absolutely stunning. Thick as syrup and intensely sweet, though not cloying in the least thanks to vibrant, orange citrusy acidity. Complex and layered with decadent prune, molasses, espresso, citrus and raspberry flavors and aromas. It has an endless finish that I can still taste. Simply decadent stuff and a real treat. A+.