2010 Vega Sicilia, Unico, Ribera del Duero, Bottle (750ml)

JS99 Silky and polished, with a medium to full body and very fine, tight tannins. Layers of sour cherries, Spanish cedar, nutmeg, lemon peel, balsamic and licorice. Intensely spicy throughout. Goes on for minutes. Still needs time. Tasted from magnum.

VM98 Opaque violet. Intensely perfumed, expansive black and blue fruit preserve, potpourri, Moroccan spice and botanical herb scents are complemented by smoky mineral and vanilla flourishes. Sappy, penetrating and deeply concentrated on the palate, offering vibrant, mineral-laced black currant, bitter cherry, chewing tobacco, mocha and floral pastille flavors that deepen and turn sweeter on the back half. Shows superb focus and vibrant, floral lift on the wonderfully long, youthfully tannic finish, which leaves behind cherry liqueur, candied violet and spicecake notes.

DR98 This is, in my view, the best Unico in the last decade, with unmatched delicacy and complexity and the potential to improve in bottle over many years. Quite intensely perfumed with black-berry fruits and elegant hints of clove and coffee, the wine is magical on the palate, with its extremely fine-grained texture, a surprising freshness and a never-ending finish. After 10 years of ageing, it is still too young and needs a long time to reach its potential, but it is difficult not to drink it now. Still the greatest in its unique style.