Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A juicy and fruity red with plum, berry and savory character. Medium body, fresh finish. Well done for a 2015.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The grapes for the 2015 Críos Malbec are sourced exclusively in the Valle de Uco, from Los Chacayes, Vista Flores, Los Árboles and Gualtallary Sur to be precise. This cold and wet vintage helped achieve the drinkability and freshness they aim for in this wine. It fermented in stainless steel and part of the wine matured in well-seasoned, neutral French oak barrels for nine months. There are some toasty notes and a core of perfectly ripe berries. The palate is fresh and balanced, quite tasty. A Críos with less makeup.
After 22 years of winemaking, Susana Balbo has a strong sense of what she wants from her wines. From every harvest, she creates the grandest possible wines under her Susana Balbo label. To achieve this, she makes a rigorous selection of the finest barrels prior to making her final blends, dividing them into the parents (reserve level wines) and offspring or "crios."
Wines under her Crios label display ripe fruit flavors, excellent balance and concentration, and are meant to be enjoyed in their vibrant youth. These wines are produced under Dominio del Plata's code of sustainable agriculture.
Like Susana's own crios (a boy and a girl), they are extremely lovable and fun to be around. The label features a series of three connected and overlapping hands, an image inspired by a Mayan artifact. The artifact illustrates the interconnectedness of every generation, and the irony that we will be both the parent and the offspring at different times in our lives.
Most distinguished and celebrated from Argentina’s Mendoza, Malbec has seen runaway success since the early 2000s. Mendoza’s agreeable, continental climate with hot, dry summers and cold snowy winters allows the perfect conditions for growing outstanding Malbec. This grape is easy to like for its lusty, deep flavors and aromas of blackberry, plum, red cherry, autumn spice and tilled earth. It’s easy to find delicious, fruit-driven, affordable everyday examples and in prices beyond, quite exceptional ones with dense, supple textures that make them capable of aging.