Vertical tastings are a wine anorak's dream
My time for Easter treats may have passed, but this year fortune did smile when I was invited to a vertical tasting in London of the Spanish wine, Alion, from the Ribera del Duero.
Vertical tastings are the wine anorak's ultimate day out. And as Alion is among my favourite Ribera wines and Ribera is one of my favourite wine-growing regions, I was chuffed to be given a coveted place at the table.
That table was in London's Michelin-starred The Square restaurant - well you could hardly review all the vintages of a top Spanish wine at a tapas bar. Actually, you could, but that is another story.
All the heavy hitters were there, from Jancis Robinson, the doyen of British wine critics, to revered veteran Spanish wine expert Julian Jeffs.
It was a fascinating tasting, beginning with the sun-drenched 2003 vintage. Alion is wholly owned by the leading Spanish winery, Vega Sicilia. And if Vega is the daddy, then the relatively new Alion is the tearaway offspring, with classy genes but an independent spirit.
Whereas Vega's flagship, the Unico, is a slow-maturing wine of deep consequence, Alion is happy to announce its suave presence with seductive texture and rich clean black fruit.
But not always. Comprehensive tastings are like roller coasters. You savour highs such as the 2000, the 1996 and the 1994, and then hear the tale of woe that led to the dismal 1997 and 1995. And then there are the wines between the first vintage of 1991 and the last available here of 2003 that were good, but not great. What emerges is the constant challenge of each vintage in the Ribera - the winemaker's ability to manage the poor years and to maximise the possibilities of the great vintages.