Susana Balbo Signature Rose 2016
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James
Suckling - Decanter
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This wine pairs beautifully with smoked salmon, Asian food, grilled poultry, hard cheeses.
Blend: 60% Malbec, 40% Pinot Noir
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A fresh and clean wine with hints of rose and peach. Medium body, crisp acidity and flavorful finish. Complex and dry. 60% malbec and 40% pinot noir.
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Decanter
Made by the talented Susana Balbo, this is exquisite, with wild strawberry and floral aromas. The palate shows tension and complexity with fine acidity and pure red fruit. This is a fine and serious rose to rival Provence. Great on its own or with Mediterranean-style dished.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There is also a 2016 Susana Balbo Rosé following the style of the wines from Provence, harvesting early, with a light pressing to obtain a pale must and using grapes from the Valle de Uco. 2016 broke all the rules about vintages in Mendoza, and it resulted in a very light and fresh rosé produced as a blend of Malbec with 40% Pinot Noir with the faintest trace of sugar and very good acidity and freshness. Its profile reminded me more of a white than a rosé, and it certainly has nothing to do with your average rosé. This is a serious rosé, with clean aromas and a sharp, fresh and very dry palate. This is one of the most impressive rosés I remember from Argentina.
Other Vintages
2021-
James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
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Wilfred
Wong
- Decanter
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
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.”
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
With a winning combination of cool weather, high elevation and well-draining alluvial soils, it is no surprise that Mendoza’s Uco Valley is one of the most exciting up-and-coming wine regions in Argentina. Healthy, easy-to-manage vines produce low yields of high-quality fruit, which in turn create flavorful, full-bodied wines with generous acidity.
This is the source of some of the best Malbec in Mendoza, which can range from value-priced to ultra-premium. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay also perform well here.