www.vntgimports.com Vega Sicilia needs no introduction and is considered, by most, to be one of the top ten wineries in the world. They cater to a very select clientele in 85 countries, and even then only exports 40 percent of its limited production of 130,000 bottles a year. The other 60 percent is sold in Spain. The jewel in the winery’s crown, Vega Sicilia Unico, takes 10 years to produce. The Valbuena is not a second wine. Rather, it is a different expression that has aged for less time, and will drink sooner, than Unico. It is a wine that comes from the younger vines and, it is mostly made with the varieties of Tempranillo and Merlot, rather than Cabernet Sauvignon. Bodegas Alión was formed in 1986 as a winery which would be run independently to its big brother, the great Vega Sicilia. This 85-hectare wine estate was founded by the Álvarez family to provide a modern expression of Ribera del Duero wine. 35 hectares of the estate is located around the winery, with a further 50 hectares dedicated to Alión within the historic Vega Sicilia vineyards. Unlike Vega Sicilia, where we find a merging of the traditional and modern winemaking techniques, Alión is made using state-of-the-art equipment. Forward and uncompromising, these are wines with impressive frames and show an alternative side of Tinto Fino. Pintia realizes the desire of the Álvarez family to make the best Toro wine, a designation that gives wines body, exoticism, an explosion of aromas, and a modern personality and character. For this, since the harvest of 1997, 70 hectares of vineyard have been bought in different places within the Designation of Origin. After four years´ study of the concept of the wine, it is begun to be made in 2001 for commercial purposes. The strategy of this new winery is common to all those in the group: make wines with personality and high quality, which implies limited production of wine. The latest adventure for the Alvarez family is Macan in Rioja. Composed exclusively of Tempranillo grapes harvested from 40+ year-old vines, Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia Macán has been very limited in production since its first vintage in 2009. A great Spanish wine crafted in the French style, this Macán leverages the full potential of the Rioja terrain for an elegant, distinguished wine that is powerful and persistent. Due to high demand, all of these wines are limited in availability. Salud! Vintage Imports Team VINTAGE IMPORTS 200 Rittenhouse Circle West #5 * Bristol, PA 19007 215.788.1300 * [email protected] VALBUENA 5º 2013 TASTING NOTES DESCRIPTION Valbuena is the pure expression of a red at Vega Sicilia, with an ageing process, from barrel to bottle, which lasts five years and gives its name: Valbuena 5º (5th). Both new and used 225-litre French and American oak barrels and 8.500-litre vats are used for a long and complex process for perhaps, the wine which has evolved the most in the last few years. Valbuena 5º presents its splendor in each vintage and a direct view of the greatness of its soil, where 140 hectares of land are dedicated to this wine; weather conditions each year make a distinction on the vintage. Thanks to the extraordinary job in the vineyard and a second year ageing in tanks, today Valbuena 5º 2013 is vibrant and rich. GENERAL INFORMATION Alcohol by volume 14 % Variety 95% Tinto Fino and 5 % Merlot Average age of vineyard 35 years Vineyard surface area 210 ha Planting density 2.222 plants/ha Altitude 700 m Yield 3.600 kg/ha Harvest Hand-picked in 12kg cases 2013 VINEYARD CYCLE Mild winter with temperatures slightly higher than usual and lower rainfall brought forward bud break 7 days, although precipitation in spring and relatively low temperatures caused a delay in both flowering and veraison, 10 days compared to last year. Normal temperatures in summer, yet partly dry, with some showers caused no damage. Day temperature, as usual in September, though decrease in low temperatures, resulting in a wide temperature range between day and night. Harvest took place starting end of September up to mid-October with abundant rainfall; so the enormous work in the vineyard reflects the grapes´ perfect sanitary conditions and ripeness level when entering the winery. STORAGE, SERVING AND DRINKING WINDOW These wines are ready for drinking now but may potentially be stored for approximately 20 - 30 years if kept in optimum conditions (12-14 ºC) at 60% relative humidity, and constant temperature, protected from direct light. Optimum drinking temperature is 18 ºC. PRODUCTION 150.650 Bordeaux bottles, 5.520 Mágnum bottles, 339 Double-Mágnum bottles and 26 Imperial bottles. BOTTLED DATE June 2015. Valbuena 94points 2013 Cropped from an unusually cold and rainy vintage in which they will not bottle Único, the 2013 Valbuena is always released in its fifth year. It’s mostly Tempranillo with 5% Merlot that was put through a three- to four- day cold soak in the oak vats where it fermented with indigenous yeasts and was pumped over. It matured in new and used 225-liter French and American oak barriques and also in 20,000-liter oak vats, where the larger vessels respect the fruit, especially in a more fragile vintage like 2013. It’s a very elegant and fresh Valbuena with a developed nose, quite classical with a fine texture, elegant tannins and a supple, long finish where the oak is still quite obvious. I liked it very much and consider it a triumph over the challenges of the year. 150,650 bottles and some larger formats were produced. It was bottled in June 2015. www.vntgimports.com UNICO 2006 TASTING NOTES DESCRIPTION Of the 1.000 hectares which make up the Vega Sicilia estate, 210 are used for wine growing, under 19 soil-types divided into 52 plots with very specific characteristics. The influence of the Duero river’s flow and the passage of time have been vital in forming these soils. 40 of these hectares are used to produce Unico with a minimum 10-year ageing process, including both barrel and bottle, probably the world’s longest. 225-litre French and American oak barrels, both new and used, 20,000-litre tanks. A long complex process for a legendary wine. Like UNICO 2005, UNICO 2006 was bottle aged for an additional two years and rewards us with an ample, profound, silky wine to keep in memory. GENERAL INFORMATION Alcohol by volume 14 % Variety 94% Tinto Fino and 6% Cabernet-Sauvignon Average age of vineyard 35 years Vineyard surface area 210 ha Planting density 2.222 plants/ha Altitude 700 m Yield 3.600 kg/ha Harvest Hand-picked in 12kg cases 2006 VINEYARD CYCLE Winter was particularly cold, including winter frost, frequent rain and snow at the end of February. Budding took place the third week of April due to the rise in temperature. Spring registered normal rainfall but abnormally high temperatures which brought forward showers the first week of April. There were cold nights at the end of May, beginning of June, though, fortunately the plant did not suffer significant damage. High temperatures continued along throughout June leading to an early flowering. Summer was normal with the beginning of budding the second week of August. High temperatures on the last two weeks of August and first week of September provoked early ripening in some plots, starting harvest September 9th. Showers in mid-September delayed the rest of the harvest reaching a well-balanced ripeness and tremendous sanity. STORAGE, SERVING AND DRINKING WINDOW These wines are ready for drinking now but may potentially be stored for approximately 40 - 60 years if kept in optimum conditions (12-14 ºC) at 60% relative humidity, and constant temperature, protected from direct light. Optimum drinking temperature is 18 ºC. PRODUCTION 93.993 Bordeaux bottles, 2,552 Mágnum bottles, 165 Double-Mágnum bottles and 6 Imperial bottles. BOTTLED DATE June 2012. 100 points Unico 2006 Incredibly floral and beautiful with dark berry, spice, cedar and mint. Chinese plums. Asian spices. Bark. Tea. Full body, dense and so soft and complex. The finish goes on for minutes. Endless and fine. January 2017 release. This reminds me of the gorgeous 1991 or 1964. Drink forever. A wine that you want to spend time with. Incredibly floral and beautiful with dark berry, spice, cedar and mint. Chinese plums. Asian spices. Bark. Tea. Full body, dense and so soft and complex. The finish goes on for minutes. Endless and fine. January 2017 release. This reminds me of the gorgeous 1991 or 1964. Drink forever. A wine that you want to spend time with. www.vntgimports.com MACÁN CLÁSICO 2014 TASTING NOTES DESCRIPTION Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia was born in 2004 as a result of the joint venture between Tempos Vega Sicilia and the Winemaking Company Baron Edmond de Rothschild. Both firms share the idea of making great wines in Rioja, a unique, singular, inimitable wine- growing region. After a five year period of terroirs evaluation and acquisition of 92 has. of vineyard, the project takes shape in 2009 with the first vintage of our two wines, Macán and Macán Clásico. Our philosophy is to offer a modern and unique vision of Rioja following the Bordeaux model of a first and second wine. Macán Clásico is a wine deeply attached to its territory. Freshness, fruitiness and delicacy are its signs of identity. It is produced in stainless steel casks; part of its malolactic fermentation in oak; new oak and single use barrel ageing for 12 to 14 months determined only by the characteristics of the vintage.