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William's Best Picks
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Pick #1: Alion, 2004 (€54.00)
Spain has a very long list of great wines, but none more alluring and enduring than those made by Vega Sicilia, founded in 1864. In the early 1990s, the company purchased a new vineyard in the Ribera del Duero region near Vallodolid where it began to produce Alion. The standards are the same as with the Vega Sicilia: rigorous selection of grapes, top wine making, 100% new oak. The 2004 is a very dark purple, inky, wine, but not heavy in the mouth. There is much sweet fruit, spice flavors, and an absolutely seamless balance between the fruit, acidity, and tannins. If I don’t always agree with Parker, I do here when he scored this wine 96 points. This robust, beautifully aromatic wine is also structured so well that, while drinkable now, will last another decade or two easily.
Napa valley does not have a rating system as does the Medoc, but if it did, Beringer’s wines would be a good candidate for a first growth status. Founded in 1876 by a German immigrant, Beringer has always made solid, hearty wines. It was only in 1977 that the company, under its winemaker Ed Sbragia, sought to make a premium wine by blending the best grapes from its most highly prized vineyards. The 2001 celebrated Beringer’s 125th anniversary, as it did Sbragia’s 25th anniversary as top winemaker, so it wanted a very special wine. It produced just that: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon with the rest Cabernet Franc that is extremely difficult to find. Luscious, elegant, long in the mouth, this wine could be mistaken for a top Bordeaux château from a gorgeous year. It is powerful and robust without being overpowering, stylish without hammering you over the head. And its structure is so full that it will last another two decades. Parker gave it a 96 which I thought not generous enough.
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