Tony Loyola

9.5

Aroma a anis y frutas intenso. En boca terroir, cuero, taninos vivos, Acidez mediana. Balanceado. No frutoso. Post gusto alto — 6 months ago

great.lena

8.9

2020- perfect! — 9 months ago

Donald Williams

9.4

A real beauty, compared to the last one we drank, 2 years age. This was full of fresh fruit, even after 15 years. Exactly what we expect in a Ribera del Duero. — 2 years ago

with Bonnie

Jakub Kalinowski

9.6

Beautiful enticing aromatics with some dark fruit (more red than black), a bit of kirsch, wet earth, leather, tobacco leaf and a exotic spice box. Evolved yet surprisingly fresh!
Quite light on the palate yet with a lot of character & presence, aetheric and airy yet with power & precision. Brilliant energy & elegance with lively acidity and mellowed, ultra fine tannins.
This is a meditation wine - I could sit with a glass of this the whole evening!
A grand unforgettable wine! — 3 years ago

Chris Haywood

8.9

Possibly overextracted for some but this is an excitingly fierce take on Mencia. Chalky thick tannin structure and the decade or so since bottling has brought out some minty and resinous notes - bit of intrigue. Because some might find it a tad brutal, and lacking in fruit for real aging potential, this dips below the nines. — 4 years ago

David

9.3

Nice smooth rueda, — 5 years ago

Neil Shah

9.6

I mean, come on!! And at the worlds oldest restaurant to boot. — 6 years ago

Ming L

9.3

Contino is my favorite out of the 4 lineups from CVNE - CVNE, Vina Real and Imperial being the other 3 - for its new world touch on traditional Rioja. On the nose blackberry and red plum scented with cedar, forest floor, vanilla, and light tobacco. The palate is plush and well balanced with excellent acidity and silky tannins.
Peaking and will have another 5-6 years before its slow descent. — 8 months ago

Conrad Green

9.4

Dark fruit. Plum and garrigue. Quite intense still… still tight. Very good. — 2 years ago

with Paul and Ara

Roland Fleck

9.0

Haven’t tried the other years. But this is award winning for a reason. Needs a little time to breathe, great for a warm summers evening — 3 years ago

Jason Gaffner

8.9

Very good for the price — 4 years ago

J Levenson

9.1

Upped my rating to a 9.1 based on quality to price. Give it a 30 min decant. “This wine contains 100% Tempranillo Peludo-a sub variety abandoned by many because if it’s low yield end and it’s one of the most memorable real Riojas we’ve had in quite some time.” - David Lynch, SommSelect — 4 years ago

Sarah Boyle Robert

9.0

Very decent by all standards. — 5 years ago

Brock Janoff

9.5

Excellent rosé — 5 years ago

Andrea Reyes

9.3

My favorite — 9 months ago

with Melissa

Ed Chin

9.3

Very nice but was out shown to me by the Real. Maybe a few yrs would help as the depth wasn’t what I expected especially on the finish. — a year ago

Joakim J

9.5

Täyteläinen ja tamminen, loistava pihvin kanssa — 2 years ago

with Veera

Stas Medvedev

9.2

🏅 Rating 92+/100 (4,25⭐)

Tobacco leaf. Full of red and some black berries. Tanins are ripe, granular. Oaky. Midpalate fruit.

Powerful 100% Tempranilio. Alion is owned by Alvarez family. Just 12km away from Vega Sicilia, which belongs to the same family.

Top quality wine that can compete with Valbuena 5°, but made in a slightly more modern style.

That's not the first time I open this vintage of Alion. Now it feels more tight. Needs more bottle aging. I strongly recommend some aeration before serving this wine. Maybe leave it for a good couple of hours in wide decanter.

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Instagram: @win_talks_club — 3 years ago

B

10

2004 Vega Sicilia Unico. Anniversary date night in SF at Bellota. Let it sit in the glass and decanter for an hour before drinking and it could use a few more hours. After an hour, it opened up a tiny bit. Inky, rich, tannic, but delicious. Dark fruit, asphalt, black pepper, lavender on the front. Balanced, but very young. — 4 years ago

Adam Reinhard

9.5

Tannins stick firmly to ones teeth — 5 years ago