Valbuena is a great wine in its own right. It actually has all the characteristics of Único, but with a slightly different blend of grape varieties. Valbuena is both the name of the wine and the village where the winery is located.
Vinification
The vines are at least 20 years old. The grapes are cooled overnight before being transferred separately to temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Each wine is then vinified separately so that every lot and grape variety can be analysed individually.
After alcoholic fermentation, Valbuena is aged for 18 months in new barriques, with an equal split between French and American oak. The blending then takes place, with the lesser lots going into Alión.
After blending, the wine is aged for a further 18 months in oak foudres that are no more than five years old. After stabilisation, Valbuena is bottled without filtration. Gravity is used throughout the entire winemaking process.
Storage potential
14 year
To serve
Serve at 18°C and decant during the first 7 years.
Trial analysis
All Vega Sicilia wines combine concentration with elegance, bringing together intensity and character with complexity and length. Valbuena is more open and easier to understand than the almost esoteric Único and Reserva Especial.
It is a powerful, highly structured and complete wine. All its components are beautifully balanced, with the freshness of Tempranillo running throughout. Valbuena is already a great wine in its own right and becomes even more complex after a few years of ageing.