Winemaker Notes
A wine of an Intense, ruby red color. It displays aromas of blueberries and blackberries and notes of flowers and licorice. Intense but gentle at the same time, with an elegant finish and round tannins.
Pairs well with red meat, pork, poultry and stuffed pasta.
Blend: 96% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very juicy and succulent with dark berries, orange peel and hints of chocolate and stone. Medium- to full-bodied with fine tannins and a crisp and beautiful finish. Malbec with a touch of petit verdot.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Susana Balbo Signature Malbec leads with a black-fruited, savory nose of tobacco and charcoal aromas with lifted herbal accents. The palate is inky and concentrated yet admirably precise and compact, concluding with an effortlessly rich and velvety finish. As with the entirety of Susana Balbo's roster, this exudes a pure, sleek, contemporary polish without feeling the least bit over-engineered. Rating: 93+
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Vinous
The 2022 Malbec Susana Balbo Signature, which includes 4% Petit Verdot from Paraje Altamira, Uco Valley, is a purple-hued wine that showcases plums, violets and herbal notes, along with a deep flow of black and red fruit gliding over a moderate oak layer. Dry, plush and juicy, the wine’s Altamira character adds a firm structure with fine-grained tannins and a chalky texture, leading to a fruit-filled finish. This is a complex, well-crafted wine with a terroir-driven core.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2022 Susana Balbo Signature Malbec shows the power of this grape variety in Mendoza. This wine excels with aromas and flavors of intense ripe blackberries, sweet oak, and graphite notes. Pair it with a perfectly grilled ribeye. (Tasted: February 11, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
This fresh, lively and food-friendly red offers a spicy, floral bouquet and a polished core of berries, with subtle mineral and fresh thyme notes underneath alongside smooth-textured tannins.
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.