BODEGAS ALION

An offshoot of the legendary Spanish winery, Vega Sicilia, Alión has a differing agenda to that worthy enterprise steeped in Duero history; more modern in style, and with a tip of the hat to Bordeaux sensibilities, Vega Sicilia’s managing director Pablo Álvarez refers to Alión as ‘a wine somewhere between a Ribera del Duero and a Medoc in style.’

Around half the fruit is sourced off Vega Sicilia vines, the other half from Alión’s own holdings near Penafiel. Displaying an attractive, modern exuberance that emphatically shrugs off the traditions of its fêted older brother, the Alión wines nonetheless exhibit an elegant restraint one would expect from the Vega Sicilia stalwarts.