I made sure that before I left for my next adventure, I had an opportunity to sit down with an old friend. Vega is one of the houses that made me take the opposite of a swan dive into the wine industry since on I was on the end of the teetering performing arts diving board. It all happened in 2010 when I was sitting across the table from Pablo Alvarez (owner of Vega) at Colicchio and Sons asking him about his life. We were discussing the pairing potential between a dry Tokay (his newest project in Hungary, Oremus) and oysters topped with shaved chorizo. I was pretty hesitant to accept such a pairing as I felt the Tokay with it’s golden fruit and tropical roundness wouldn’t have enough minerality, salinity or zip to lift the oyster. Boy was I wrong – once the course came out it floored me. This started a very long and life-altering night of Vega surprises. The ’96 Unico, ’00 Unico, ’01 Valbuena and 2008 Reserva Especial were among the highlights in this 9 course, mind-bending dinner.
No swans. I fell hard.
Well, last Friday we invited some old friends to the tasting room along with some special PJ wine buffs. Antonio Menendez, marketing manager for Vega, led us through some of the wines we had on the illustrious C&Sons night as well as newest releases AND unreleased vintages. For hours we talked and sipped Vega. Not a bad way to end a week, I assure you.
The consensus was that the 04 Unico was magical. Like the ’01 Valbuena and ’96 Unico on the night my heart took the wine plunge, the ’04 had people reminiscing of wines of lore like the ’59 Latour, ’70 Unico (arguably the best Vega ever), ’81 La Rioja Alta 890, ’85 Latache, and ’61 Petrus. Yep, the ’04 showcased why VS is the top house in Spain and takes a spot as one of the best houses in the world.
I had heard a few rumors regarding the ’01 vintage and why no Unico was made, but had the rumors disproved when Antonio reaffirmed that because of late frosts there was a second bud break and thus not acceptable for the flagship. Too bad as ’01 seems to be the dynamite year to pick up from Ribera and Rioja. However, if you see anymore ’01 vabuena on the market, jump on it for it is the Unico in a quasi-secondary form!
The lineup:
2004 Valbuena
2007 Valbuena
1996 Unico
2000 Unico
2004 Unico
Just released lineup:
2012 Alion
2009 Valbuena
2010 Valbuena
Not released lineup:
2008 Unico
2016 Unico Reserva Especial (’96, ’98, ’02)
2011 Valbuena (2018)
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