you'll never walk alion

bodegas y vinedos alion 1999 [ribera del duero]
ruby, thrown a crust; plum, mushroom, hint of shellac/brett ... did not detract, hurray!, damp oak, smoke, cedar; rich sweet plum, mineral; still heaps of firm tannins with balancing acidity ... nice; tight/youthful; medium bodied; longish; has the structure and fruit to go further; 13.5%; currently, decant for at least 45 mins; great stuff; BANG! see younger one

at least merseyside fairies ended up ahead of us this season ... to the scouser who went missing this arvo ... salut ...

pre break pop

friday, with 1 suspect only.

primo palatum madiran 1998 (all tannat)
ruby, still looks bright and young; cherry, some mushroom; cherry, some plum; still lotsa tannins (not particularly fine); juicy acidity; linear but not lean; not complex (the others begged to differ); medium bodied and length; still fresh, with the tannins and acid, nuther 3-5 years?; in any event a BANG! given it's reasonable price.

bodegas portia prima ribera del duero 2005
ruby, bit dull; plum, prunes?, mushroom, earth; blackcurrants, plum, bit stalky, savoury, hint of resin; lotsa tannins (sheets of it and not very fine);just enough acid to save it from being dull; medium bodied; short; POP!

saturday, with both,

jean marc bouley beaune 1er cru les reversees 2005
light ruby; plum, cranberries?, musk?(oh,oh!), spice; plum, cherry; nice fine/powdery tannins; a little lean and tart (broadened a bit with time but not much); light/medium bodied; medium length; POP! (+)

castello di querceto chianti riserva 1990
garnet; dried flowers, plummy, secondary; plum, a little mushroom; tannins and acid have abated; a bit lean and dry?; medium bodied and length; POP! one suspect differs. their il picchio of the same vintage was much nicer.

chateau de st cosme gigondas valbelle 2006 (90% grenache: 10% shiraz ... 30% new wood: 70% i yr old)
purplish; berries (don't know what), cherry (kirsch?), herbal, spicy (green peppercorns), chinese bbq'ed meat, smoke, metal?; almost sweet ripe cherry, aforesaid meat and spice, chalk/mineral, rich; overall still a little hard, disperate parts; lotsa fine tannins and acid; medium bodied; long spicy and meaty? finish; 14.5%; nuther young but good one; BANG! see older bro.

spanish ayes

only one suspect yesterday, the other was purportedly working.1) bodegas y vinedos alion 2004 [ribera del duero (tempranillo)]
some kind of vega sicilia baby. also a baby in that it was very young and tightly wound. develops in air and opens up a little ... had it over 4 hrs.

inky purple; lavender?, plum, blackberry, hint of vanilla, cocoa, mushroom and soy, wood; rich dark fruits, lots of wood(new) but not enough to be an immediate putoff ... can't think why cos the punter normally dislikes freshly sawn lumber, a little alcohalic burn; heaps of fine chalky tannins; all balanced by enough acid; linear; med/big bodied; longish; 14.5%!!! but did not feel like it ... hic; has the ingredients for the long long haul; BANG! i suppose but i wouldn't necessarily want to see it again soon, maybe in 3. in the end it felt like i had had a good young bordeaux.

2)la rioja alta vina arana rioja reserva 1995
after the one above, wanted to see the same grape (albeit from a different region) with more age ...
consistent with the initial bottle here BANG! not a bad afternoon ...

hope our little catalan performs as well against manure this weekend.