Winemaker Notes
A fresh, pure expression of the varietal, with aromas of violets, cherries, mocha and spice. Juicy tannins and balanced acidity complement perfectly ripe red fruit flavors, while a subtle hint of oak adds complexity.
Pair with tuna steak, lamb, or hamburgers.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
his shows the beautiful quality of the 2018 vintage with a solid core of fruit, bright acidity and a silky finish. All here.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The spectacular 2018 Críos Malbec is aromatic, floral and expressive, varietal and clean, with structure and fine tannins, with nice balance. It's velvety and juicy, with very focused flavors and a long finish. It's among the best Críos I remember. Great value too. 350,000 bottles produced.
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.