Winemaker Notes
Bright and intense red with aromas of black and red fruits, it has a scented nose with floral notes and spices. Fresh, it has a complex structure, elegant and of great personality.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Colomé Estate Malbec is a cut above most others in the marketplace. TASTING NOTES: This wine is bold, ripe, and lasting. Enjoy its focused black fruit aromas and flavors with a grilled ribeye. (Tasted: December 20, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
Attractively concentrated style here with aromas and flavors deep in the plum and blackberry zone. Full and firm palate. Really flavorful and bold style.
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Wine Enthusiast
Toasty black fruit aromas are herbal but also lively. A lush and saturated palate is a true mouth filler, while this Malbec pumps out blackberry and crème de cassis flavors prior to a heady finish that comes up short on complexity and nuance. This is entirely about fruit, fruit and more fruit.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Estate Malbec was quite primary and young, with the high-altitude intensity of color, aromas and flavors. It's ripe (14.9% alcohol) but nicely balanced, with varietal aromas (violets, raspberries) and integrated oak aromas and flavors. A showy Estate Malbec, a good representation of what the grape can deliver in the high-altitude vineyards of Salta.
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.
The Salta region in northern Argentina is home to world’s highest vineyards. Near the town of Payogasta, the Colomé Altura Máxima vineyard is planted at 10,206 feet in elevation.
Salta is part of the Calchaquí Valley, which benefits from more than 300 days of sun per year, subjecting its vines to considerable ultraviolet radiation. The valley experiences strong high altitude winds, even in the “lower” vineyards, which are planted at 5,413 feet. Because of these elevations and resulting extreme conditions, vines produce lower yields and thicker-skinned grapes, resulting in concentrated, aromatic and well-structured wines.
In a truly unique region, the highly aromatic variety, Torrontes, thrives; intense sun exposure allows full ripening, while cooling winds maintain the grapes’ acidity levels and phenolic balance.
Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bonarda, Syrah, and, particularly, Tannat have the most potential among reds.
Upscale hotels, beautiful colonial architecture, a majestic Andean backdrop and impressive food and wine make the area attractive among tourists as well.
Salta is the fourth most important Argentine wine-producing region after Mendoza, San Juan, and La Rioja. Its oldest vineyards were planted in 1862.