Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Perdriel Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from 50+-year-old vines. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it offers up a slightly reticent bouquet of spice box, tobacco, cedar, violets, and assorted black fruits. Savory, ripe, and layered on the palate, it is a more structured wine than the Reserve bottling and has 1-2 years of aging potential. It will be at its best from 2013 to 2023.
Rating: 89+ -
Wine Enthusiast
Smoky, rich and savory to start out, with compact berry and plum aromas that slant towards raisin with airing. The palate is warm, full and offers good structure; flavors of baked plum and berry are nice and the finish is savory and firm, with tannic framing.
Argentina of course is heralded for its Malbecs. But in the last two decades Cabernet Sauvignon has been drawing increased attention from winemakers there, and is now the third most planted variety. It is grown in the Mendoza region in the Andean foothills, especially in Maipú and Luján de Cuyo, at altitudes between 2300 and 3100 feet. Here the climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters. It is very dry and sometimes quite windy, with runoff from the snow-capped Andes providing irrigation. These Argentinian Cabernets offer dark fruit, spice notes, full body and often a voluptuous style.
Another source within Mendoza is the higher altitude Uco Valley, at 3300 to 5000 feet. Up at this level grapes ripen more slowly, despite the bright sun. But that enables them to develop bright acidity levels, giving the wines a fresh quality to go with intense fruit flavors. Another source of good Cabernet Sauvignon in Argentina is Cafayate, in the Calchaquí Valley. North of Mendoza, these vineyards are even higher, at about 5700 feet! These Cabernets carry notes of spice, herbs and menthol to go with dark fruit. Like those from Uco Valley, they show concentration and great vibrancy.
A few producers to look for are Catena, Viña Cobos, Pulenta and Altocedro. Salud!