Vega Sicilia and the Finest Wines of Spain

For much of the fine wine world's history, Spain was admired more for its value than its grandeur, a source of honest, affordable bottles rather than trophies. That reputation has always undersold the truth. For more than a century Spain has produced wines of genuine greatness, and at their head stands one estate whose name commands the same reverence in Spain that Lafite does in France, Vega Sicilia.

Founded in the nineteenth century in the Ribera del Duero, along the same river that becomes the Douro of Port across the Portuguese border, Vega Sicilia is Spain's most storied estate. Its flagship wine, Único, is made only in the finest vintages and released only when the estate judges it ready, often after a decade or more of ageing in barrel and bottle, so that it reaches the market already mature. Built largely on the Tempranillo grape, with a Bordeaux influence in its make up, Único is a wine of great structure and longevity, and its scarcity and prestige have long placed it among the world's most collectible reds.

Vega Sicilia is far from alone. In the same Ribera del Duero, the modern cult wine Pingus emerged in the 1990s to instant acclaim, produced in tiny quantities and chased by collectors from its very first vintage. To the north, the classic region of Rioja is home to traditional houses such as López de Heredia and La Rioja Alta, whose wines are released with many years of age and offer some of the finest value in the fine wine world. And in the rugged hills of Priorat, a new generation led by figures such as Álvaro Palacios has produced concentrated, mineral reds that have earned a place on the world's great wine lists.

What these wines share is a quiet confidence, a sense that Spain has never needed to shout about a greatness it has possessed all along. Their styles range from the ageless elegance of old Rioja to the power of Priorat, but the finest all reward long cellaring and reveal themselves slowly, in the way the greatest wines always do.

For the collector, Spain remains one of the most rewarding frontiers in fine wine, offering estates of genuine world class, from Vega Sicilia to Pingus, often at prices well below their equivalents in France or Italy. Building a cellar around them follows the same principles set out in our guide to starting a fine wine collection. To source the great estates of Spain, contact us.