One of the finest Valbuenas available, showcasing great depth, structure and detail while remaining polished. It exhibits notes of blackberries, cocoa powder, graphite, and high-quality sandalwood, with hints of lard and violets. The standout feature this year is the quantity and quality of the tannins—huge, yet incredibly refined and polished. There are plenty of fine grits that aren’t fully integrated but should harmonize in two to three years. Exceptionally long finish. Will hold effortlessly for the next 20 years. 176,000 bottles produced. Zekun Shuai Senior Editor

An exceptional wine from an exceptional vintage, the 2021 Valbuena 5 is 96% Tinto Fino and 4% Merlot, the vineyard separated into plots for this wine and for Unico. Seductive, layered, and freshly earthy, it offers impressive length and breadth, a fantastic, alive wine that should go another 20-30 years. Stainless-fermented, it’s meant to represent the year and the estate. Once made with a small amount of Malbec and Merlot, the Tinto Fino is blended only with Merlot now. -Virginie Boone

The 2021 Valbuena comes from a year with pristine grapes, good ripeness and balance, for them one of their finest years when they didn't have to rush and everything happened in a smooth way. The year was marked by the snowstorm Filomena in January, which provided good water reserves, and the rest of the winter had temperatures reaching -15 degrees Celsius! This was a blend of 96% Tinto Fino (a.k.a. Tempranillo) and 4% Merlot aged in barrels and 8,500- and 21,000-liter oak vats during the first year and later only in oak vats. This is the youngest expression of the "Vega" nose, subtler and elegant, more insinuating, less developed and keeping some primary notes, not as tertiary as the Únicos. It comes in at 14% alcohol, with a pH of 3.85 and 4.65 grams of acidity, and it has a medium- to full-bodied palate, with elegant tannins and very good balance. This is one of the finest recent vintages for Valbuena, and in a way, it reminded me of the 2010, with elegance and precision. A total of 176,876 bottles, 5,566 magnums and some larger formats were produced. It was bottled in May 2024. - Luis Gutierrez

The 2021 Valbuena N°5 is Tinta del Pais with 4% Merlot. Fine oak frames aromas of ripe plum, blueberry, delicate wood tones and a touch of chocolate. The palate is juicy, with moderate structure and lightly grippy tannins; it gains dimension through the mid-palate, where precision, depth and refinement gradually unfold. More than power, this vintage leans into elegance. A beautifully judged Valbuena. -Joaquín Hidalgo

A rich red in a supple frame, with generous flavors of plumped black cherry, sweet tobacco, herbed black olive, cocoa powder and licorice root animated by well-knit, plum skin acidity. Trimmed nicely by fine-grained, sculpted tannins, this expressive red drinks well today but will shine with cellaring. Tinto Fino and Merlot. Drink now through 2040.