2019 Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5º, Castille-La Mancha

The obsession in 2019 was to avoid excess ripeness and to keep the freshness, so they did a softer vinification, used larger vats for the élevage and used less American wood. The 2019 Valbuena was produced with a blend of Tinto Fino with 3% Merlot. It has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.88 and 4.6 grams of acidity. I love the nose; it is perfumed and subtle. And the wine is beautifully textured; the tannins are very fine, silky even, quite different from the tannins from the other 2019s from the group that I tasted next to this, Macán and Pintia. A triumph over the conditions of the year, it's a more elegant Valbuena than I anticipated. 190,490 bottles, 5,581 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in June 2022. Drink 2024-2032.

95 points Luis Gutiérrez robertparker.com Jun 2024

The 2019 Valbuena 5º is primarily Tempranillo with a 3% dash of Merlot from the Vega Sicilia Estate and was aged for up to two years, one in foudres and the other in different kinds of oak barrels. Garnet-red with a faint bluish-purple sheen. The aromas feature cedar and vanilla accompanied by plum, sour cherry and subtle pine hints. The dry and velvety palate shows a faintly chalky texture and supple tannins that create an unctuous but taut character. The energetic red is wrapped in a gently plush blanket. Drink 2025-2040.

94 points Joaquín Hidalgo vinous.com 

Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5º is one of Spain’s most iconic red wines—rich with heritage, crafted with precision, and layered with complexity that reveals itself slowly, seductively, with time in the glass or years in the cellar. It comes from Ribera del Duero, not Castille-La Mancha, but it’s easy to see how that confusion could arise—Vega Sicilia is a name that echoes across the Spanish wine world with serious gravity.

Valbuena 5º is the second wine of Vega Sicilia, but in name only. This isn’t a lesser wine—it’s simply a different interpretation of the estate. Where the flagship Unico is designed to age gracefully for decades, Valbuena is structured for earlier approachability, though it still has the bones to age for 15 to 20 years with ease.

Crafted primarily from Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) with a touch of Merlot, the wine is sourced from the estate’s own vineyards—planted at high altitude on a patchwork of clay, limestone, and gravel that gives the wines their remarkable tension and depth. The winemaking under the direction of Gonzalo Iturriaga de Juan is meticulous. Fruit is hand-harvested, sorted with surgical care, and fermented in both stainless steel and oak before maturing in a mix of French and American barrels. The élevage process is long, often 3 years or more, and includes both barrel and bottle time to ensure complete harmony.

And the result? Nothing short of world-class. In the glass, Valbuena 5º is plush yet precise, offering waves of dark cherry, plum, cedar, dried tobacco, and crushed stone. There’s an earthy edge, a subtle floral lift, and that ever-present mineral spine running through the core of the wine. Tannins are polished but authoritative, and the finish is long, savoury, and impossibly fine.

This is not a flashy wine—it’s composed, intellectual, and deeply rewarding. A wine for decanting, contemplating, or pairing with aged Manchego, braised lamb, or time itself.