Winemaker's Notes:
The 2004 Alion is inky purple-colored 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 licorice, mocha, and espresso emerging on the palate. The lengthy finish is pure and persistent.
Give it 3-5 years in the cellar and drink it through 2025.
"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-colored 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 licorice, mocha, and espresso emerging on the palate. The lengthy finish is pure and persistent. Give it 3-5 years in the cellar and drink it through 2025." 96 Points
Wine Advocate
February 2008
"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." 92 Points
International Wine Cellar
2008
"Cherry, raisin, tobacco and cola flavors are supported by firm tannins and lively acidity in this maturing but still fresh red. Nicely focused. Drink now through 2014." 89 Points
Wine Spectator
November 30, 2008 |
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About Bodegas Vega Sicilia:
The foundations of Vega Sicilia's traditions may be found as far back as 1859, when Don Eloy Lecanda Chaves was gifted an estate by his wealthy father. The origins of the Vega Sicilia winery are officially regarded as 1864, which was when Don Eloy Lecanda Chaves returned from his travels in Bordeaux with vine cuttings, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Carmenere - all of which were found in Bordeaux at that time - and, curiously, some Pinot Noir. Regardless of how Pinot Noir arrived, the cuttings were duly propagated and planted at Vega Sicilia, although the Carmenere and Pinot Noir are no longer found in the Vega Sicilia vineyards.
Vega Sicilia's Tempranillo is trained in gobelet fashion, whereas the French varieties are trained in a Guyot system. Green harvesting is employed ruthlessly in order to control yields, and the harvest itself is meticulous. In the winery, such a massive wine will withstand many years in wood and Unico sees a complicated series of rackings from huge barrels to new oak, to used American oak, back to new oak again, and on it goes. Whatever these phases are called, Unico certainly receives very prolonged barrel ageing, with the 1970 seeing over sixteen years! And yet these are not washed out, stretched, overly oaky wines when mature, testimony to the quality of the raw materials on which they are based.
-Chris Kissack, The Winedoctor
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