Winemaker Notes
It is ideal to pair with Mediterranean cuisine and red meats.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A fresh and clean wine with berries, lemons and hints of stones. A medium body and a delicate finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The juicy and unoaked 2015 Malbec Clásico represents the variety in the Mendoza province, with bright red fruit, approachable and easy to understand through sourcing grapes from different zones, but looking for cooler soils rich in sand and with some clay and lime. 2015 represents a big change for this bottling, which has a higher percentage of grapes from the Valle de Uco. The destemmed grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and the wine was kept in concrete vats for one year before bottling. The fruit is ripe, fruit-driven, with a juicy palate, with fine tannins and subdued minerality. The wine is subtle and balanced, easy to drink. An improvement over past vintages. This has to be one of the best values in Mendoza. There are eight different lots, totaling some 750,000 bottles.
Celebrated for its bold flavors and supple texture, Malbec has enjoyed runaway success in Argentina since the late 20th century. The grape originated in Bordeaux, France, where it historically contributed color and tannin to blends. A French agronomist, who saw great potential for the variety in Mendoza’s hot, high-altitude landscape, brought Malbec to Argentina in 1868. Somm Secret—If you’re trying to please a crowd, Malbec is generally a safe bet with its combination of dense fruit and soft tannins.
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.