Tasting Notes for Altos las Hormigas Riserva Malbec 2006

Red Wines	Malbec	Argentina	South America

My Rating (circle) :

Date Printed: 5/21/2013

Altos las Hormigas Riserva Malbec 2006

(search item no. 98272)
Wine Spectator rating: 92 points
PRICE ON 5/21/2013: $33.99

ratings pedigree (past vintages):
2009 Wine Spectator rating: 88 points
2008 Wine Spectator rating: 90 points
2008 Wine Enthusiast rating: 90 points
2008 Wine & Spirits rating: 90 points
2005 Wine Spectator rating: 92 points
2004 Wine Spectator rating: 92 points
2002 Wine Spectator rating: 92 points
2002 Wine & Spirits rating: 92 points
2001 Wine Spectator rating: 91 points
2000 Wine & Spirits rating: 88 points
1999 International Wine Cellar rating: 91 points

Winemaker's Notes:

The hand picked grapes go through a double sorting table and are gently crushed before going into small, short and wide stainless steel tanks to begin the fermentation which is done by native yeasts; the cap management is conducted with punching downs and rack and returns to maximize the extractions of colour and flavor from the skins always in a soft way to avoid any overdoing. The time between crushing and pressing is approximately 30 days of which about 10 are of primary fermentation and 20 of extended maceration, during the whole time the temperature is kept around 28-30 Celsius degrees to gain depth and volume in the mouth. Right after pressing the wine goes straight into barrels (only tight grain French oak) and does the malolactic and the whole ageing which last 20 months; by doing this we achieve a perfect marriage between oak and wine as the wine itself at this stage is still rich in polysaccharines and lees that combine with the oak tannins. The wine is then bottled unfined.

My Notes: