Winemaker Notes
The color is a deep, shining red. The aromatics are very mineral, with strong evidence of calcareous soils, such as chalk. On the palate, this Malbec is very fresh on entry, with great volume and texture. The tannins are somewhat edgy and the finish is a long one.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Winemaker Juan Pablo Michelini sources the grapes for this wine from the high altitudes of Gualtallary, in the Uco Valley. Ripe and at the same time dense, it’s a terrific example of Uco Valley malbec, as soft as a cushion, filled with flavors of red fruit and spices. Serve it at cellar temperature to best show off all its violet and cherry details.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
They have been reducing the oak, but the 2014 Gran Terroir Malbec still shows oaky next to the other two Malbecs. This is a blend of grapes from eight to 12-year-old vineyards in Gualtallary at 1,350 meters altitude (sourced from Ambrosia and Tupungato Winelands). The destemmed grapes fermented in cement vats and matured in used oak barrels for 14 months. It's still quite spicy and showy, quite perfumed, with a more commercial profile. The palate shows the strict personality of Gualtallary, with chalky tannins. 2014 is riper and warmer than 2013 and then 2015 is fresher. And 2016 is even fresher and more exceptional. 20,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2015.
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.
SKRLZZ005_2014 Item# 178113