Vega Sicilia Valbuena Red 2019

James Suckling: Extremely fragrant with violets and a bouquet of flowers. Then there are blue fruits like blueberries and raspberries. Medium body, with beautifully crafted tannins that give superb mouthfeel and finesse. Refinement with depth and focus. Wonderful to drink now, but will be even better in four or five years. Try in 2027.

Tim Atkin: Valbuena almost always contains some Merlot, and that’s the case with this 2019, dominated by 97% Tinto Fino. Aged in a classic combination of French oak and 15% American oak, it’s a bold, layered cuvée with blackberry and blueberry fruit, supported by good acidity for the year, a touch of balsamic, elegant, youthful tannins, and plenty of structure. 2025-38.

The Wine Advocate: The 2019 obsession was avoiding over-aging and maintaining freshness, so they made a gentler vinification, used larger barrels for aging, and used less American oak. The 2019 Valbuena was made with a blend of Tinto Fino and 3% Merlot. It has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.88, and 4.6 grams of acidity. I love the aroma; it’s perfumed and subtle. And the wine has a beautiful texture; the tannins are very fine, even silky, quite different from the tannins of the other 2019s in the group I tasted next, Macán and Pintia. A triumph given the conditions of the year, this is a more elegant Valbuena than I anticipated. A total of 190,490 bottles were produced, 5,581 magnums and some larger formats. It was bottled in June 2022.