Name: Editor's Pick Vega Sicilia Alíon Ribera Del Duero 2018 Smart Choice [SfDGdIwH]
Brand: mappa-mercia.org
SKU: HBS10588283316
Price: 27.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.06 (656 reviews)

Editor's Pick Vega Sicilia Alíon Ribera Del Duero 2018 Smart Choice [SfDGdIwH]

Alion is Vega Sicilia’s second project in Ribera del Duero. There are 130 hectares of land divided into three large blocks, seventy of which are located on the Vega Sicilia estate itself: 30 hectares in the Padilla de Duero, and another 30 hectares in the nearby town of Pesquera de Duero. Alion is the “younger sibling” to Vega Sicilia; made with the same elegance, but aged three years before release and meant to drink within the first 15-20 years, though there is no doubt that it can age longer.

The colder 2018 vintage produced an elegant and easy Alion, despite the big concentration. The wine was made in 80% new barrels, but also a mixture of barriques and concrete. Great texture.

"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."

Luis Gutiérrez