Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5º 2015

The aromas to this are so complex and enticing with nutmeg, dark berries, chocolate and white pepper. Full body. Dense and layered with so much wonderful, complex and succulent character. It just makes you want to drink it. Drink or hold.

The 2015 Valbuena, a red blend of mostly Tempranillo with some 5% Merlot, is released in the fifth year after the harvest. It's explosive and showy, with a complex nose that shows a mixture of flowers and wild herbs, balsamic touches and great nuance. This wine has gained in complexity since the 2010 vintage, where they implemented some changes that increased the expressivity and precision of this wine. The tannins are fine-grained and there is very good balance, and the warm conditions of the year have been absorbed well by the wine. Despite the natural conditions of the year, the wine follows the path of freshness of the 2010. 173,673 bottles, 5,625 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in June 2018.

Valbuena is moving on up. Undoubtedly it needs time to blossom, but the building blocks are firmly in place. The oak is very refined, the fruit is dark and intense. Yet it's fresh, and with a welcome savoury spice to counterbalance the richness. The finish is very long, with a fine texture and that keynote lift of acidity. This needs time to come to its full potential. The Tinto Fino is blended with just 5% Merlot. Drinking Window 2025 - 2035

This is one of the best Valbuenas I've ever tasted, a still youthful cuvée of Tempranillo with 5% Merlot. Made grapes from Vega's north-facing vineyards in the western part of the Denominación de Origen, it's a refined, layered, subtly wooded red with some spice from partial American oak ageing, notes of fresh tobacco, raspberry and bramble fruit, very fine tannins and a core of acidity that's unusual in 2015. 2022-35