Winemaker Notes
Los Chacayes is an extraordinary Terroir. Its sandy loam and rocky soils guarantee good permeability, limit plants growth and assure perfect ripeness. BenMarco Malbec is a testament to Uco Valley where it hails from, proffering aromas of fresh black fruit and floral notes of violets. The palate shows great balance, very fine tannins and a thread of acidity going through its core, lifting it up and going it lenght.
Pair with beef, sausages, spiced or grilled pork, medium-strong cheeses, and meat-based pasta sauces.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Produced with grapes from one vineyard in Chacayes in the Valle de Uco, the 2016 BenMarco Malbec is floral, spicy, aromatic, showy and expressive, with great freshness and lots of aromatic herbs, black pepper and flowers. This has both good ripeness and freshness, with very fine tannins. It's a short (the shortest!) vintage with moderate alcohol but good concentration. 200,000 bottles produced. In the last few years, this has been sourced from Altamira.
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Wine Enthusiast
Dark cherry and berry aromas strike a pose that allows this tough-skinned Malbec to justify its rough, tartaric palate and lemony acidity. Varietally correct black cherry and plum flavors finish big and dense. Don’t expect elegance from this full-throated screamer.
BenMarco is all about viticulture. Having planted more than 3,000 acres of vineyards across Argentina’s diverse terroirs, Edgardo “Edy” Del Popolo, General Manager of Susana Balbo Wines in Mendoza and head winemaker for BenMarco, is Argentina’s most knowledgeable winegrower. He has tasted almost every piece of dirt!
BenMarco wines are made with minimal intervention to allow for the purest interpretation of what’s underground on the extreme sites where the grapes for BenMarco are grown. “I try to avoid adding my influence to BenMarco wines,” Edy says. “What I really like to see is what the vines can do, without any kind of winemaking influence.”
Edy grows three red wines from three distinct, high-elevation sub-zones of Mendoza: a Malbec from Los Chacayes, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Los Árboles, and Expresivo, a red blend from Gualtallary.
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.