Susana Balbo Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
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Suckling
James -
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Spirits
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Wong
Wilfred -
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with a wide range of foods from beef and pork to lamb, quail and other game birds, and cream-based sauces. This wine will age very well, so don't forget some bottles for the cellar too.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A cab with attractive blackberry, dark chocolate and walnuts. Full body, with soft tannins and a racy finish. Pretty texture and savoriness. Better in 2015.
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Wine Spectator
A flashy red, showing ripe cassis and racy cherry coulis notes, wound with a structured layer of spice, mocha and licorice.
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Wine & Spirits
Right on point, this is a textbook cabernet. It grows at two vineyards, one in Agrelo, the other higher up in Altamira; the blend includes five percent Malbec. It's a robust mouthful, with scents of cassis and black pepper clearly delineated through a smooth and elegant finish. This will benefit from several years in the cellar, or serve it now will grilled sausages.
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Tasting Panel
Dark, smooth and lush with clean, bright and tangy style; juicy, snappy and pure with deep plum, blackberry and spice; long and dense.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
I first met Susana Balbo a decade ago with the backdrop of the Andes and what I saw in her eyes was the soul the heart of a winemaker. Ms. Balbo is one of the world's great wine luminaries. The 2012 Susana Balbo Signature Cabernet is one of the world's best values in this varietal field. The wine is very dark, super enticing in the nose and satisfying on the palate. Medium to deep ruby color; a superb intermix of licorice, black fruit and sweet earth in the nose, yes there is more just fruit here; medium bodied, frisky and fine on the palate, perfectly poised sweet tannins keeps everything all in place; dry, pleasing acidity, well balance; unbridled red currants and black licorice and sweet earth in the flavors; long finish, crisp and active in the aftertaste. (Tasted: February 12, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Susana Balbo Signature Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from Vista Flores and Altamira in the Uco Valley blended with 5% Malbec from Altamira. 20% of the wine is barrel-fermented with punching down and has medium intensity, with subtle aromas, and is a little closed. It requires time in the glass and some swirling around to reveal notes of red and black fruits. It has a medium-bodied palate where the smoky flavors of the wood and the peppermint are well-blended and the fine-grained tannins are in good balance with the acidity. This is a balanced, ripe Cabernet. Drink now-2019.
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Susana Balbo graduated from Don Bosco University in Mendoza in 1981 and established herself as Argentina’s first female enologist and, since then, has been considered one of Argentina’s top winemakers. Three times her industry peers elected her to the Presidency of Wines of Argentina because of her work ethic, innovative winemaking techniques and dedication to the worldwide success of Argentine wine.
After working for twenty years as a consulting winemaker, Susana founded her own brand in 2000. In 2001, she broke ground for her winery in Agrelo in the Luján de Cuyo district of Mendoza. There, she makes her Susana Balbo “Signature” line of wines, as well as wines under the Crios, Nosotros and BenMarco labels. Her winemaking approach for the wines that bear her name is to seamlessly apply her human touch and enhance the grape’s innate character.
Over several decades of winemaking in Argentina, Susana has earned a reputation for a pioneering spirit and innovation. She is known for experimenting with various barrel sizes and aging regimens, fermentation of wine in egg-shaped concrete fermenters, and wild yeast fermentations. The Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez dubbed her groundbreaking barrel-fermented Torrontés one of the “10 Argentine Wines to Drink before You Die.”