Wine details
| Name: | Alión |
| Country: | Spain |
| Region: | Ribera del Duero |
| Winery: | Bodegas y Viñedos Alión |
| Type: | Red wine |
| Grape: | Tempranillo |
| Vintage: | 1999 |
| Average rating: |  |
| Cost: |  |
| Added by: | ricard |
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Tags: cedar forest fruit heady leather oak smoky spicy toasted tobacco vanilla
Food pairing: Lamb, beef, suckling pig.
It's frustrating to have a wine you know is capable of greatness - and Alión is on most occasions - and get something that isn't completely successful. I've had Alións that have literally wowed me. This one wasn't faulty (or I wouldn't review it) but it was perhaps *tired*, so to speak. Having said that, the nose was sensational: a heady, spicy, smoky, toasted affair of cedar, tobacco and sweet stewed forest fruit and subtle suggestions of vanilla. The palate expressed good fruit, oak and leather. But the overwhelming sensation is in the finish, which is disappointingly acidic, ruining the balance. I would have been more impressed with a more tannic wine, lower acidity and real fruit concentration to support those more subtle aromas and flavours. Well, just slightly lacking in balance and structure, but a good Ribera nonetheless. Don't forget this - on a good year, Alión can be a great Ribera. The winemaker is the legendary Vega Sicila enologist, Xavier Ausàs.
