My Favorite Wine # 1 : Vega Sicilia

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Bodegas Vega Sicilia is a Spanish winery located in the Ribera del Duero Denominacion de Origen in Valladolid, Castilla y León North of Spain. The "Vega Sicília" wine is well known as one of the most notable Spanish wines. The winery was founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves, who planted various grapes from the Bordeaux wine region of France, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which are still being used in the wines today. Since 1982, the same year that the Ribera del Duero was granted Denominación de Origen (DO) status, the winery has been owned by the Alvarez family who are members of the Primum Familiae Vini. In comparing the wines of Spain to the First Growth wines of Bordeaux, wine expert Hugh Johnson, after comparing Rioja producers Marques de Riscal and Marques de Murrieta to Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild, respectively, noted that "Vega Sicilia is the Latour; but Latour of a vintage that has raisined the grapes and fried the picking crews." a reference to the significantly warmer climate and different growing conditions of the Ribera del Duero.