ALION

Glass-staining violet. Heady smoke- and mineral-accented aromas of ripe black and blue fruits, incense and potpourri, plus hints of vanilla and cola in the background. Densely packed, alluringly sweet and focused on the palate, offering intense black currant, cherry-vanilla and candied licorice flavors and a touch of exotic spices. Sappy, smooth and seamless in texture, finishing with powerful thrust and velvety tannins that come in late to add shape and gentle grip. 95% French and 5% American oak, 80% of it new. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 95 Josh Raynolds, www.vinousmedia.com (Feb 2021)

The highly anticipated 2016 Alión spent 12 months in oak barrels, 80% of them new and built mainly with French oak but with some 5% American oak, and some 10% of the volume matured in 15,000-liter concrete vats. It hits the scale at 15% alcohol and has moderate acidity, showing ripe black fruit and a creamy texture. 2016 has to be one of the freshest and most elegant vintages of Alión, a year with depth, freshness and terrific balance. Same as they do in Pintia, they are finding ways to lower the impact of the oak in the wine; here, they used concrete, and the wine shows more primary and floral aromas and is nicely textured and with fine tannins. 258,458 bottles, 7,017 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in June 2018. Drinking range: 2020 - 2028 Rating: 95 Luis Gutierrez, www.robertparker.com (Dec 2019)

Opulent and open with a generous nose and demonstrative palate, this is a stunning Alión and it is already plain to see that this is going got be a star. There is a huge whoosh of cassis here and it is perfectly balanced with fit, mouth-watering tannins. When Alión is on form, I don’t feel the need to climb the ladder any further, because it hits the Vega button while giving one a more flirtatious and forward-drinking experience and this is genius. In this year’s release, there is every reason to climb the ladder, as you will see when you read on, but I will be staying here and also buying this wine, too, because it is genuinely superb. Rating: 18+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Dec 2019)