Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The prodigious 2006 Pulenta Gran Cabernet Franc is a glass-staining opaque purple. The aromatics are nearly ethereal with the complexity of a great Saint-Emilion. Exotic spices, wild blueberry, and mineral notes intertwine and mesmerize. Once on the palate, the wine is layered, plush, and voluptuous. The wine’s sweet fruit is perfectly balanced by silky tannin and the finish lasts for over a minute. It will benefit from 4-6 years of cellaring and provide pleasure through 2026. The price makes it a sensational value.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
By far the largest and best-known winemaking province in Argentina, Mendoza is responsible for over 70% of the country’s enological output. Set in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains, the climate is dry and continental, presenting relatively few challenges for viticulturists during the growing season. Mendoza, divided into several distinctive sub-regions, including Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, is the source of some of the country’s finest wines.
For many wine lovers, Mendoza is practically synonymous with Malbec. Originally a Bordelaise variety brought to Argentina by the French in the mid-1800s, here it found success and renown that it never knew in its homeland where a finicky climate gives mixed results. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir are all widely planted here as well (and sometimes even blended with each other or Malbec). Mendoza's main white varieties include Chardonnay, Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.