Winemaker Notes
Pair with beef, pork, game meats, cream-based sauces.
Blend: 95% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is opulent on the nose with plum liqueur, creme de cassis, vanilla, mocha, coffee beans, walnuts and mahogany. Full-bodied and very rich with ripe and bold tannins, an explosion of dark-plum and dark-chocolate flavors. A long, chewy finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The style of the 2016 Susana Balbo Signature Malbec shows the hand of the winemaker, with a little warmer fermentation and perhaps a little more extraction. However, in the cooler and wetter 2016, this feels as fresh and floral as the BenMarco Malbec, and it has a polished and balanced palate, with some fine-grained tannins and clean, pure flavors. Precise, focused and fresh. 100,000 bottles produced. Rating: 92+
Susana Balbo graduated from Don Bosco University in Mendoza in 1981 and established herself as Argentina’s first female enologist and, since then, has been considered one of Argentina’s top winemakers. Three times her industry peers elected her to the Presidency of Wines of Argentina because of her work ethic, innovative winemaking techniques and dedication to the worldwide success of Argentine wine.
After working for twenty years as a consulting winemaker, Susana founded her own brand in 2000. In 2001, she broke ground for her winery in Agrelo in the Luján de Cuyo district of Mendoza. There, she makes her Susana Balbo "Signature" line of wines, as well as wines under the Crios, Nosotros and BenMarco labels. Her winemaking approach for the wines that bear her name is to seamlessly apply her human touch and enhance the grape’s innate character.
Over several decades of winemaking in Argentina, Susana has earned a reputation for a pioneering spirit and innovation. She is known for experimenting with various barrel sizes and aging regimens, fermentation of wine in egg-shaped concrete fermenters, and wild yeast fermentations. The Wine Advocate's Luis Gutierrez dubbed her groundbreaking barrel-fermented Torrontés one of the "10 Argentine Wines to Drink before You Die."
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.
With a winning combination of cool weather, high elevation and well-draining alluvial soils, it is no surprise that Mendoza’s Uco Valley is one of the most exciting up-and-coming wine regions in Argentina. Healthy, easy-to-manage vines produce low yields of high-quality fruit, which in turn create flavorful, full-bodied wines with generous acidity.
This is the source of some of the best Malbec in Mendoza, which can range from value-priced to ultra-premium. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay also perform well here.