April 30, 2024 - Opened, but did not decant ~ 30 minutes before dinner. Black in the glass and throwing a fair amount of sediment. Tobacco, iodine, blackberry, and iron on the nose. Full body, medium+ acidity, medium tannins and very long persistent finish. Really enjoyed this. Drink now. 94+/-
April 2, 2024 - Tasting together with Vega Sicilia Valbuena 2012. Same producer, same region, pure Tempranillo. Still big wine but less elegant than Vega and not so round and balanced.
November 7, 2023 - smoky touch, lovely acids, black fruits, herbs during aftertaste, great wine!
September 27, 2023 - Great tempranillo on the modern side of the spectrum (full, dense) but not over the top (not too much wood influence). Compared to Valbuena, very interesting to compare the difference in style. Alion is more full throttle, whereas Valbuena is more elegant, fine, more classically styled
August 31, 2023 - Nez intense d'arômes balsamiques...cèdre, de bois de grange, d'écorce, soupçon d'eucalyptus, de fruits rouges bien mûrs et de cannelle, ainsi que des arômes empyreumatiques. Un vin souple et texturé, mûr, ample et rond. Saveurs de fruits mûrs et d'épices...influence du bois, et de fumé. Finale moyenne à longue sur des notes de griottes. 92+
May 30, 2023 - This wine needs to be decanted 2-3 hours still. Otherwise it is not showing it's full potential. Parker rate 95
May 12, 2023 - Nez intense d'arômes balsamiques...cèdre et bois de santale, cuir, et barrique brulée. Les tannins sont fins mais présents...umami. Corsé, ample, sec et texturé avec des saveurs de fruits mûrs et de cuir. Finale moyenne à longue sur des notes de griottes. Boire d'ici 3-4 ans encore. Délicieux !
January 3, 2023 - Tuesday Night Double Blind $50+ (Bin 75 Alpharetta, GA): Black core with purple rim; tar, purple, charcoal, so sweet and purple yet well aged, smoked meat, road tar, a juiciness that lifts up the corpulent structure, a little glycerin but not overbearing; I'm not liking this much either; '06 Kongsgaard Syrah?, should have known a little better looking back at my notes.
October 19, 2022 - Rich and dense, now drinking well with an hour of aeration, good structure to keep longer
September 3, 2022 - Tasted alongside Pintia 2012, the Alion is richer, deeper, sweeter, fine tannins and with exceptional length. A large step up from an already good Pintia.