The Wine Advocate - 30st Dec 2020 - Luis Gutiérrez - 2011 Vega Sicilia • Único - 96/100 - $628 - 2021-2033
The Único released in 2021, 10 years after the harvest, is the 2011 Único, selected from 40 of their 210 hectares of vineyards. 2011 is a concentrated and ripe vintage, and they selected 95% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that were cooled in a cold room for 24 hours before being sorted; the bunches and grapes macerated at 9 to 10 degrees Celsius for three to four days, and then it was inoculated with a pied de cuve to ferment with pumping overs. Malolactic was in stainless steel, and the wine was put through a long aging, 10 years between oak and bottle, using new and used French and American oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats. For Vega Sicilia, 2011 was a fresher year than 2010, not the common idea about those vintages in Ribera del Duero. The wine has a developed nose with some notes of ripe black fruit, meat and underbrush, somewhat herbal and perfumed. There is something about the nose of the Únicos that I cannot quite describe but is quite distinct, and it's in this vintage and also in the Reserva Especial. 88,288 bottles, 3,505 magnums, 318 double magnums, 60 Imperial and 3 Salmanazar were produced. The wine was bottled in June 2017.

James Suckling - Tuesday, December 15, 2020 - Vega Sicilia Ribera del Duero Unico 2011 - 98/100
Very ripe with plum, spice and dried-flower aromas, as well as chocolate, fresh flowers and sandalwood. Coffee and hints of meat. Sort of decadent. Full-bodied with round, creamy tannins and an intense, juicy feel. Unique cedar and walnut undertones. So delicious now, but one for the future, too.

Tim Atkin - Vega Sicilia Único Reserva 2011 - 98/100
"The only problem with the 2011," says Gonzalo Iturriaga, "is that it followed 2010." I gave
the latter wine a perfect score, so I know what he means. And yet this is still a fantastic Único
in its own right. Marrying Tinto Fino with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, it's not as powerful or
showy as the 2010, but has considerable elegance and finesse. Sweet, leafy, balsamic flavours
are framed by perfumed French and 30% American oak, with the mint of the Cabernet
surprisingly noticeable on the refreshing finish. The tannins are very fine indeed, caressing
the tongue as they pass. 2025-40