Vega Sicilia’s Top Wines

by Westgarth Wines July 16, 2021

Vega Sicilia was founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves but it was the Álvarez family that, after purchasing the winery in 1982, made the label what it is today: one of Spain’s top producers. The first plantings were in Ribera del Duero, but Vega Sicilia has gone on to expand to Toro and even Tokaj, in Hungary. It also makes some of the best Rioja around.

Vega Sicilia may be best known for its flagship wine, Único, based in Ribera del Duero, but let's look at the exquisite plots at the foothills of the Sierra Cantabria to find the best Rioja has to offer. The producer’s Rioja labels, Macán and Macán Clásico, came from a collaboration between Benjamin de Rothschild and Vega Sicilia.

Made of 100% Tempranillo, the grapes are grown in poor clay-calcareous soils in a 92-hectare plot. Macán and Macán Clásico are a marriage of Bordeaux and Rioja tradition. The grape variety is Spanish, but the wines are aged in the traditional Bordeaux manner. The majority of the wine is aged French oak, most of it new, as opposed to the American oak frequently used in Rioja. The result is wines of elegance that age handsomely.

If you want to explore Vega Sicilia outside of Rioja, the producer’s offerings from Toro include the Alión and Pintia labels. The Ribera del Duero bottlings include Alión and Valbuena 5 - and then there is the famed Único. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo, Único sees some of the longest aging of all before being released, around 10 years between barrel and bottle.

Whether you are seeking the best Rioja or beyond, Vega Sicilia remains a winery of the highest quality and it is well worth exploring its bottles.