ALION Tempos Vega Sicilia - Ribera del Duero 2018 Bottle

Description

Alión 2018, a distinguished 100% Tempranillo from the Ribera del Duero DO region, showcases exceptional craftsmanship and fruit expression. Scoring 96 points from James Suckling, this wine is celebrated for its fresh, floral aromas of violets and berries, alongside blackberries and orange peel. Its medium to full body is supported by firm, linear tannins, offering excellent length and structure that promises further evolution. The Wine Advocate awarded it 95+ points, praising its freshness and elegance, developed from a cooler vintage with a late harvest. Aged in 80% new barrels and with some maturation in concrete, Alión displays a subtle balance of oak and ripe fruit character. With a drinking window from 2023 to 2032, this vintage truly shines, offering a refined, harmonious experience.

*****

100% TEMPRANILLO (TINTO FINO)
Alión comes from carefully selected terroirs located in the very best areas of the Ribera del Duero DO region. The soils complement each other, and allied with the same winemaking process used in Vega Sicilia, they have produced wines with a firm structure.

JAMES SUCKLING 96 points
Fresh and very floral with violets and berries. Blackberries and orange peel, too. Medium-to full-bodied with firm, linear tannins. Excellent length and structure. Seriously structured, Better after 2024, but already beautiful.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 95+ points
Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez
Drink Date: 2023 - 2032
The 2018 Alión follows the path of the 2016: it is fresh and elegant and from a cooler (more Atlantic) vintage with more rain than the average and a relatively late harvest between September 28th and October 12th. They used 80% new barrels, with up to 10% made of American oak looking to (in their own words) give more sucrosity and sweetness to the wine, as it's a more vertical, tense and elegant expression of Alión. Part of the wine matured in concrete (something they started in 2016), and in 2021 they are experimenting with a 4,000-liter Rousseau foudre, as they want to keep working the texture and freshness. The wine is ripe at 15% alcohol and has a pH of 3.8 and a mellow 4.6 grams of acidity, round and soft. The wine matured until it was bottled in June 2020. The truth is that the wine comes through as subtle, elegant and balanced, with very integrated oak and a nice texture. It's one of the finest vintages for Alión. 257,257 bottles, 7,005 magnums and some larger formats produced.