Now that the academic year is over (well for me anyway), posts should be a bit more regular. And what better way to kick things back in to gear than a bottle of Alion.  As is usual with this wine, its a hard beast to tame when it’s young. Decanting helps but really this needs at least 5 year in the cellar to really start showing what its made of. This bottle was showing loads of oak initially, and then closed up with a wall of tannins, which is fairly typical for the vintage. I’ve had a couple of bottles of this in the past year, and they have all been a little different, but all pointing towards a great, long term wine.

The noses starts of with lovely black cherry and blackberry fruit, a touch of blueberry and raspberry at times to. Then comes the oak, in all manner of styles: chocolate, espresso, caramel, fresh wood shavings and a touch of vanilla. Dense and brooding in the glass, the colour is very dark and the palate is tight and linear. Plenty to like on the palate, fresh and juicy fruit, bloody meat, iron filings/mineral notes, and a bit of fresh cut wood. Its just a wee pup at the moment, it needs time to evolve, but it is a classic Alion and reminds me a lot of the 1996. Cellar for 5 years, then drink over the following 15.  94+ Pts

Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: $115 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.bodegasalion.com

Other Vintages: 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1996,  2000, 2001, 2003