2004 Bodegas Alión, Ribera del Duero, Spain

2004 Bodegas Alión, Ribera del Duero, Spain

Product: 20041130429
 
2004 Bodegas Alión, Ribera del Duero, Spain

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Description

Alion is now entering superstar territory; 2004 in Spain is being re-appraised in an up-ward direction. It should, therefore, not come as a syllogistic surprise that Alion 2004 is an exceptional wine. The benevolent conditions of 2004 were characterised by Spring rainfall and a very lengthy and warm ripening season up to the late September harvest; the wine is appropriately dark of hue, with a nose of aniseed, spice, sousbois and blackcurrant. 

On the palate, the tannins are fine but powerful; the fruit is dark, velvety and rich. The edifice is powerful and young but finely wrought in its architectural complexity. The key things that have struck me in the 2004 are how complimentary the wine is to its Vega siblings and how much more polished it is stylistically than in previous vintages. Created in 1991 to be Vega Sicilia's modern, more Francophile face, Alion ages its wines entirely in new oak barriques ( 225 ltrs) sourced in Nevers but crafted in the internal cooperage. 

Located 11 km from Vega, in the village of Palidda de Duero, the winery sits in a carefully managed natural environment, its tapestry of forests and scrubland manicured to ensure the integrity of the microclimate.

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Critics reviews

Josh Raynolds, Vinous92/100

Saturated red. Fresh strawberry and raspberry aromas are complemented by subtle Indian spice and mineral qualities. Really shows its fruit on the palate today, offering vivid red berries, blackberry and candied. Tannins make a brief appearance on the finish but are subsumed by the energetic fruit. I've no doubt that this will repay cellaring, but it wouldn't be infanticide to drink a bottle now.

Josh Raynolds, Vinous.com (July 2008)

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Wine Advocate96/100

Bodegas Alion was started by the renowned estate of Vega Sicilia in 1991. Grapes are sourced from vineyards next to the winery and from Vega Sicilia’s own vineyards at Valbuena. Eighteen hectares of Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) form the actual Alion estate. The 2004 Alion is inky purple-coloured with an alluring perfume of toasty oak, lavender, violets, mineral, blackberry, and blueberry compote. This is followed by a full-bodied, rich, opulent wine with incipient complexity and notes of liquorice, mocha, and espresso emerging on the palate. The lengthy finish is pure and persistent.

Drink now to 2025

Jay S Miller, Wine Advocate (February 2008)

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About this WINE

Bodegas Alion

Bodegas Alion

Bodegas Alión was formed in 1986, owned by but run separately to its neighbour, the great Vega Sicilia.

This 85-hectare wine estate was founded by the Álvarez family (who also own the Toro estate Bodegas Pintia) to provide a modern expression of Ribera del Duero. The wine is made with 35 hectares around the winery, as well as a further 50 hectares dedicated to Alión within the historic Vega Sicilia vineyards.


Unlike Vega Sicilia, where we find a merging of traditional and modern winemaking techniques, Alión is made using state-of-the-art equipment. Forward and uncompromising, these are wines with impressive frames and show an alternative side of Tinto Fino (Tempranillo).

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Ribera del Duero

Ribera del Duero

In the last 30 years, Ribera del Duero has emerged from almost nowhere to challenge Rioja for the crown of Spain's greatest wine region. Once known only as the home of Vega Sicilia it now boasts numerous bodegas of outstanding quality like Cillar de Silos, Alión and Hacienda Monasterio. Ribera del Duero was granted its DO status in 1982, at a time when only nine bodegas were operating there, yet today it has over 200 wineries and more than 20,000 hectares of vines. Most of Ribera del Duero's production is red, with only a modest quantity of rosado produced. No white wines are allowed under the DO.

Ribera del Duero owes its success to a combination of factors: firstly, its terroir of schistous sub-soil bears remarkable similarity to other famous winemaking regions such as the Douro and Priorat. Secondly, its microclimate, with its high altitude, hot days and cool nights (a phenomenon known as “diurnal variation”), ensures ripeness while preserving the vivacity of the fruit, aromatic flavours and refreshing acidity.

Thirdly, it has been blessed with an exceptional native grape, Tempranillo (also known as Tinto del País or Tinto Fino). This yields superb, complex red wines that are delicious when young but which also have the capacity to age into magnificent Gran Reservas. Finally, the immense influence of its winemakers has been key – historically, of course, Vega Sicilia, but more recently Peter Sisseck (Hacienda Monasterio) and the indefatigable Aragón family of Cillar de Silos.

The same DO rules govern Ribera's barrel-aged styles as for Rioja: Crianzas are aged for two years before release with at least a year in oak barrels; Reservas must be three years old with at least a year spent in oak; and, finally, Gran Reservas must be five years old before going on sale, with two years spent in barrel. The young (joven) unoaked red wines, called Roble, tend to boast a moreish, vibrant, bramble fruit while the best oak-aged styles of Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva show intense, generous fruit, overlaid with notes of vanilla and sweet spice, and wrapped up in polished, elegant tannins.

Recommended producers: Vega Sicilia (including Alión), Cillar de Silos, Hacienda Monasterio

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Tempranillo/Tinto Fino

Tempranillo/Tinto Fino

A high quality red wine grape that is grown all over Spain except in the hot South - it is known as Tinto Fino in Ribera del Duero, Cencibel in La Mancha and Valdepenas and Ull de Llebre in Catalonia. Its spiritual home is in Rioja and Navarra where it constitutes around 70% of most red blends.

Tempranillo-based wines tend to have a spicy, herbal, tobacco-like character accompanied by ripe strawberry and red cherry fruits. It produces fresh, vibrantly fruit driven "jovenes" meant for drinking young. However Tempranillo really comes into its own when oak aged, as with the top Riojas  where its flavours seem to harmonise perfectly with both French and American oak, producing rich, powerful and concentrated wines which can be extraordinarily long-lived.

In Ribera del Duero it generally sees less oak - the exception being Vega Sicilia where it is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and then aged for an astonishing 7 years in oak and is unquestionably one of the world`s greatest wines.

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