A legendary winery in Spain: Bodegas Vega Sicilia

Let me start at the beginning: when you are studying for a WSET certification, you only need to focus on the wine and winemaking itself. But when you are on the Court of Master Sommelier course and you would like to pass your exams, you need to know more than that from the wine world. They are asking all sorts of questions, about wineries, specific wines and the most up to date winelaws and news. This is what I find more difficult in the CMS exams and that is why I decided to write about this iconic winery from Spain and their wines.

Vega Sicilia has a much older reputation then since the Álvarez family bought the estate in 1982. The winery has been established in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves in the region of Ribera del Duero DO in the Province of Valladolid, Castile and León which is in northern Spain. He brought grape varieties from Bordeaux to his estate next to Tinto Fino (aka Tempranillo) which still makes the majority of the plantings. In minority is it mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec but there is a tiny amount of the old-vine white Albillo as well.

The name Vega Sicilia has appeared in Spanish documents that existed long before the winery was founded however the origin of the name is currently unknown. Vega Sicilia has no connection to the island of Sicily or the wines of that region. The word Vega refers to the green vegetation that grows along the riverbank of the Duero while Sicilia refers to Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, after whom several villages in Castile and León is named after. There are no written records on why Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves chose Vega Sicilia as his winery’s name.

When the Álvarez family took over the winery (it was in the same year when Ribera del Duero was granted Denominación de Origen (DO) status) it became a member of a winery family as they own multiple estates in Spain and even in Tokaj (Hungary). And also the Álvarez family is a member of the Primum Familiae Vini which is an association of family-owned wineries with a membership limited to twelve families (currently has eleven members, there are few changes amongst the members) alongside some legendary family owned wineries like  Antinori in Italy; Château Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux; Maison Joseph Drouhin in Burgundy; Egon Müller Scharzhof from Mosel (Saar), Germany; Famille Hugel in Alsace, France; Pol Roger from Champagne; Famille Perrin (owners of Château de Beaucastel) from the  Rhône Valley in France; Symington Family in Douro/Oporto, Portugal; Tenuta San Guido (the producer of Sassicaia) in Tuscany, Italy and Bodegas Torres, Catalonia, Spain.

The style of wine that we know today has been created near 1900 when the winery was under the hands of a Rioja grower, Cosme Palacio. And time has showed a benefit from all the different owners who made a contribution of the current style, a full-bodied, long-lived red wines.

Here are the produced wines by the Bodega Vega Sicilia:

•             Unico –  the signature wine of Vega Sicilia that is usually released 10 years after the vintage  when it has been aged in wooden tanks, small, new barriques, large, old barrels and bottles. Harvested from some of the oldest vines in the Ribera del Duero, the wine is mostly Tempranillo (approximately 80%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (approximately 20%).

•             Valbuena 5° – The 5° indicates that this wine has been aged for five years in French and American oak barrels prior to release. The wine is composed mostly of Tempranillo, with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

•             Vega Sicilia Unico Reserva Especial – A non-vintage blend of different Unicos, aged at least for 10 years. This wine can include grapes from vintages harvested more than 30 years apart. This wine is usually not available for the public, only private customers under strict allocation can get these bottles.

As you can imagine these wines can age for decades and they are one of the most expensive ones in Spain specially the Unico and the Reserva Special.  If you are lucky enough to taste even one of them, appreciate the moment, I am not sure you are going to have another chance in your life!