Monte Cinco Malbec oak 2005, one of the best malbec ever

Monte Cinco, Malbec 2005, By Arturo Bertona (Montecinco) , USD 50
A Malbec from Alto Agrelo district in Lujan de Cuyo Dpt, Central Mendoza.
One of the best Malbecs I ever tasted. Full expressed malbec with beautiful ripe fruits of plum, black cherries currants, figs and a perfect and fine oak complement of vanilla, chocolate and smoke. I malbec to toach every drop in your mouth. It begun to unfold after 1 hour of decanting and it was close to deceptive just right off the bottle. So be patient and wait for it a little while. A 95 point malbec I wouldn´t expect better now on although it might still be drinkable 3 -4 years down the road. a supervalue malbec worth buying at least twice.

Infinito 2005, an attractive multivineyard ultrapremium red blend from Mendoza

Infinito 2005, By Sur de los Andes , USD 45


A Malbec based (60%) blend with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc ,and 10% Merlot from Lunlunta (Maipu Dpt), Agrelo (Lujan de Cuyo Dpt) and La Consulta (San Carlos Dpt, Uco Valley). A wine to discover after an hour of quite decanting. Very complex in terms of fruit palette with a variety of fine oak components like vanlla, chocolate, coffee and a delicate toast. Balanced and attractive. This bottle shows a bit of acidity not quite nice indeed. A 90 point blend probably out of its momento. Having malbec as central component I wouldn´t cellar more than 8 years this red.

Ricardo Santos, Malbec 2010, every vintage is consistent with an ARG value

Ricardo Santos, Malbec 2010, By Ricardo Santos 13
An always single vinyeard malbec (Finca Las Madras) from Russell District in Maipu Departament of Central Mendoza.
Years has passed and the consistency is amazing, more if I think of Argentinian wines. Wide palate of mostly red fruits ripe and beautiful given the acidity and alcohol quite confortable. No much oak, actually not any. An 89 point malbec from Maipu honoring that terroir at a premium level. Probably better a couple of years ahead. Either way I don´t feel it´ll get better after 4 years old. Good value.

Alto Las Hormigas Malbec Clasico 2010, a basic premium and a very good start into malbec

Altos Las Hormigas Malbec Clasico 2010, By Altos las Hormigas, USD 13
A malbec blending Lujan de Cuyo and Uco Valley and getting a descent malbec fairly good and basically attractive at a premium level. Red and black fruits with plums and berries. Basic oak like chocolate and soft smoky edge. Not concentrated though. To drink before 4 years old aged. I´d say an 89 point malbec A good value too.

Encuentro, Malbec 2009, from Rutini wines and Tupungato valley a modern and attractive red

Encuentro Malbec 2009, By Rutini Wines (Bodega La Rural), USD 17

A malbec labeled from Tupungato Valley, Mendoza. Nice malbec fruity and balanced with juicy blackberries and plum mostly like Uco gives away. A big oak toach quite nice too. Chocolate ,roasted coffee, and vanilla all at once. The wine is really attractive and typicity ´s preserved too, I mean: you look for an Uco´s Malbec? and you want a modern and well oaked malbec? , well you get both. A 90 point malbec and a good value too. It might be a malbec for less than 4 years at its best beauty.

Barrandica Malbec Selection 2010, a new vintage of the best Vistaflores Value

Barrandica Malbec Selection 2010, By Antucura Wines, USD 10
A delicious mabec from Vistaflores district of Tunuyan Departament Uco Valley and from this small state devoted to single vineyard wines and lodge casaantucura .
A fully expressed malbec from highlands: sweet black berries and plum with beautiful tannins, ripe and smooth. This is the top malbec and a superb value by price, typicity and attractive I found in premium wines placed at the top terroirs. A 92 point malbec, great value and looks like better before 4 years old. 

La Flor , Malbec 2010, a new vintage for an Agrelo´s son

La Flor, Malbec 2010, By Pulenta Wines, USD 10

Very nice and balanced malbec keeping the softness and smoothness all through. Fine red and black small forrest fruits ripe and sour. Not concentrated though. Small toach of chocolate gives roundness too. An 86 point malbec to enjoy before 4 years old. It´s got terroir and finesse although I put it below premium price to be a great value. At 10 bucks price I find hard to buy it twice.

Lassia Cabernet Sauvignon & Malbec 2010, a beautiful excercise of Patagonia´s typicity

Lassia Cabernet Sauvignon & Malbec 2010, By Bodega Patritti, USD 9
A blend from San Patricio Valley, Neuquen Province, North Patagonia. A beuatiful and full red. Nicely and naturally strong and alcoholic with sour fruit mostly black plum and cherries. All sort of wild berries black and wide in palate. A strong chocolaty and coffee toach too. A red reaching its best next 2-4 years. An 89 point blend expressing North Patagonia typicity in a nice balance.

Sorry about the drippings !!!

AVE Malbec 2010, from Perdriel a great value at a premium level

AVE, Malbec 2010, By Ave Wines, USD 12

An impressive Malbec from Perdriel District of Lujan de Cuyo Departament, Central Mendoza.
Full balance with prominent blackberries and red cherries with a wonderful chocolaty note. Close to La Consulta´s malbec in beauty and balance. Very attractive. That quality makes Argentina´s Malbec bright at the top values close in style to Barossa shiraz. An 89 point malbec and a great great value to enjoy the best between 2 and 4 years old. A must to see an Arg´s supervalue at a premium level

Felino Chardonnay 2010, fresh and balanced white and a great value under 15 bucks

Felino Chardonnay 2010, By Viña Cobos, USD 12
A chardonnay from somewhere in Mendoza and a great display of balance. Green apple with nice kiwi and grapefruit in a beautiful acidity and alcohol. Not even a dash of toast. A wine to enjoy. Different and elegant, attractive and balanced. A 91 point chard with a great value added. I wouldn´t cellar it more than 2 -3 years. A great Argentinas´s value not ot miss.  

Siesta (Tahuantinsuyu) malbec 2007, a multivineyard malbec strange enough

Siesta (en el Tahuantinsuyu), malbec 2007, By Ernesto Catena, USD 35A malbec blending different terroirs from La consulta, Agrelo (Mendoza), and even Pedernal Valley (San Juan Province).
The result is a quite unusual Malbec. Nice and complex with fruity core of black cherries,and sweet ripe black grapes. Wide and giving a balance oak. Given the complex blending this wine won´t be easily consistent vintage after vintage. So and so it goes like 90 point and worthwhile the price. It doesn´t show tannins to improve after 6-8 years old like almost any Argentina´s Malbec.

Altos Las Hormigas, Malbec Reserva 2008, nice but overpriced

Altos Las Hormigas, Malbec Reserva 2008, Valle de Uco, By Altos Las Hormigas, USD 35
A malbec blending different vineyards from Uco Valley. A thin but expressing vivid black fruits typical of Uco with a soft toach of chocolate and smoke. Lacks midlle body in the palate. Good balance and attractiveness to seduce most palates. I wouldn´t go more than 89 points for this malbec, and therefore I feel it a little bit overpriced. A malbec to drink before 6 years old.

Infinitus Gran Reserva, merlot 2005, a superb Northpatagonian

Infinitus Gran Reserva Merlot 2005, By Fabre Montmayou, USD 30A great merlot from General Roca, Rio Negro, North Patagonia.
It shows what a very good merlot may reach and evolve in Northpatagonia. Red toasted and sour plum
with red cherries reminiscent dominate the fruit core. Very nice middle and end of palate showing a great wine underneath.
Perfect acidity and alcohol. Little if any oxidation add up to a mature merlot. Little spiciness more toward pink peppercorn and dry sage.
A 92 point merlot and a great value. I wouldn´t expect any better beyond this point in time.

Argento Bonarda 2010, a price winning under 10 bucks to surprise anyone

Argento Bonarda 2010, By Bodegas Esmeralda (Catena Group), USD 10

An striking Bonarda from Junin Departament East Mendoza: Impressive balance of plum sour and ripe with a sweety envelope not found anywhere else. The soul of bonarda with the attractive of mendoza´s Malbec simply not found anywhere in the country. An 88 point Bonarda close to any great malbec or blend at a premium level below 10 bucks shelf price. A great value no doubt. A wine to drink before 4 years old. One of those wines to adopt as everyday companion by it self or with food.

Dos Fincas, Cab & Malbec 2010, a wonderful value from Uco Valley under 10 bucks

Fincas, Cabernet & Malbec 2010, By Finca La Amalia (The wines of Carlos Basso), USD 9
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) and malbec (20%) from Uco Valley, Mendoza. 
So straight and beauty to reach easily the elvel of great value. Balanced and fruity with nice notes of chocolate. Black cherries and peppercorn and red bell peppers are the core. Sweet and perfectly stuctured by acidity and alcohol. A premium red and less than 10 bucks. An 88 points red to drink before 4 years of age. A great value.

Benegas Sangiovese 2006, close to a standard premium or above from Tuscany

Benegas Sangiovese 2006, By Bodegas Benegas, USD 20

A single vineyard (Finca Libertad) Sangiovese from Cruz de Piedra district in Maipu Department ,Central Mendoza.
Very good Sangiovese red with the basic structure and beauty of the grape and Cruz de Piedra terroir. Nice red sour cherries with chocolaty end very attractive and balanced. This is the way I remember a premium sangiovese, the Italian for 'youth blood'. Truely , I like more those Tuscan brothers though. This is an 89 point red well priced and a good value indeed. Probably best 6-8 years of vintage.

Perinet 2004, a DOC Priorat as an International Reference for Argentina´s and myself

This tasting is here just to get a reference of the taster senses and bottom lines.

Perinet 2004, By Mas Perinet SA, USD 50



A red blend of Carignan, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot (and others) from La Morera, Priorat, Catalonia, Spain
Fine mixture of sour dark fruits with sweet compote cooking quite attractive. Balanced and full on the palate. A 90 point blend to enjoy best 7-9 years from vintage. Here at 50 bucks kind of expensive and overpriced. Even so a very good red. Twenty to 30 bucks is a good value I guess.

Coleccion Kooch, Pinot Noir 2008, a tipical high quality NorthPatagonian´s Pinot

Colección Kooch, Pinot Noir 2008, By Cofruva S.A., USD 40
A Pinot from Añelo Valley, Neuquen Province, NorthPatagonia, showing all the tipicity of this land. Well structured red sour cherries and toast with a nice oxidation. Pale red translucent and opaque brownish dominant on it. attractive on the palate ,well balanced and sweet enough. A 90 point Pinot I don´t think has much room to improve ageing. So 4 to 6 years seems the wndow for better maturation. A good value.

Alfredo Roca ,Family Reserve Malbec 2008, beauty but not close to 07 vintage

Alfredo Roca, Reserva de Familia, Malbec 2008, USD 23
A malbec from San Rafael Valley, South Mendoza.
http://www.rocawines.com/
Nice malbec but less firmness than 07 vintage. The tannins preserve its fruit driven beauty but are less solid. Black cherries and plum with soft dark chocolate and even softer vanilla. Anyhow it´s a enjoyable malbec with the beauty of San Rafael Valley. A 90 point malbec and a good value. 


see the Alfredo Roca Family Reserve 2007 note HERE

Mapema Blend 2003, a excelent multivineyard ´mendocino´

Mapema Blend 2003, By Mapema, USD 40

A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon from Tupungato and Agrelo, 30% Malbec from La Consulta and 20% from Agrelo and Tupungato. A balanced and complex blend walking its 9th year of age and probably downhill. A beautiful red with red cherries and blackberries with plum a little bit cooked (the cork was perfect with only a thin rim of wine on its inner edge. Good chocolate and smoke. Hard to pick up any vanilla. A 90 point blend probably best 6-8 years of age. Great value though.

Graffigna Late Harvest Viogner 2007, a delicate a nice sweety from San Juan

Graffigna Centenario, Viogner Tardio 2007, By Bodega Graffigna, USD 10 (500 ml).

A late harvest Viogner from San Juan Province. Delicate sweety perfumed with yellow flowers and honney.
Melony and overipe damask (apricot) dominate the palate. Low acidity and balanced alcohol.
A 88 point late harvest soft and delicate. Good value.

Don Nicanor Late Harvest Bonarda 2006, a big cup of coffee,figs and alcohol

Don Nicanor, Cosecha Tardia Bonarda 2006, By Bodega Nieto Senetiner, USD 13 (500 ml)

A late harvest Bonarda from somewhere in Mendoza. Sweet, I´d say oversweet and toasty with huge coffee component. Almost undetectable black figs and cherries. Too dense to drink by itself. To enjoy with a sweet dessert. I tastes like a cognac dry fig marinated. An 86 point late harvest with some basic complexity. Those who enjoy dense and extremely sweet wines will encore this wine, I get my gustatory buds saturated before them. Good value though.

Tikal Natural, Malbec 2010, a very good organic certified malbec from Uco but a little expensive

Tikal, Natural, Malbec 2010, By Ernesto Catena Vineyards, USD 20
A malbec from vineyards located in Uco Valley http://www.tikalwines.com/ 
and 'certified organic by
http://www.letis.org/
A fairly dark red malbec with brightness and a fresh toach of mostly red cherries and sweet plum a little bit underpowered given the terroir it comes from. Very nice dark chocolate and coffee from oak. Smooth and palatable all through. A Malbec from Uco´s that can easily be reached at 15 bucks level, so it looks to me like 5 bucks overpriced. An 89 point malbec at the quality of premium (lets say 10 to 14 bucks). I wouldn´t pay this price twice as I said it can be got at a lower price.

Norton D.O.C., Malbec 2008, a basic beauty with controlled regulations of Lujan de Cuyo

Norton Malbec DOC Lujan de Cuyo 2008, By Bodegas Norton, USD 10



A malbec from Perdriel district in Lujan de Cuyo Dpt, Central Mendoza and one of the few malbecs produced under the controlled denominaton (Denomincion de Origen Controlada) which rules where, how, and when this wine´s made mirroring the European strategy (...which I´d say it works better for european products!, but good shot anyway). The other malbecs under the rule are Nieto Senetiner DOC, Luigi Bosca DOC,and Lagarde DOC.


Nice malbec with red cherries and plummy mix quite basic and essential to Lujan de Cuyo (and Central Mendoza too). Nice oaky envelope although soft and timid. Likable and attractive but not impressive. Adecuate to the price but you find many others premium quality much more attractive than this. An 87 point, good value. All the DOC Lujan de Cuyo Malbecs are capable of ageing 4 to 6 years at the most.

Terza Volta, malbec 2004, A Carrodilla district malbec at the end of its improving potential

Terza Volta Malbec 2004 ,By Bodega Terza, USD 25
A malbec from Carrodilla distric in Lujan de Cuyo Departament, Central Mendoza.
A typical Malbec born in central Mendoza and handled tradicitonally. Red cherries mixed with plum in a nice oak integration. Good chocolate and acidity aged. It looks like reaching its final plateau and soon entering some decaing. A very good wine a bit overpriced. Even so an  89 point aged malbec. I know of very few malbecs older than 8 years with potential for age improving.

Rutini Gewurztraminer 2009, a delicate and superb white for a delicatessen reunion

Rutini Gewurztraminer 2009, By Bodega La Rural (Rutini Wines), USD 30
Vineyards of Tupungato Valley , Mendoza give rise to this outstanding white. The core of this wine is its floral and peach citrusy side with sweet honney and just an edge of toast and vanilla. The palate catches up a mineral tone quite nice at the very end. Bottom line: a complex and attractive white to enjoy just by your self. Not very acid, so the delicate structure shows off peacefully.  A 94 point white with a strange grape put in high mendoza Uco´s Valley. Two to four years may be its plateau window to enjoy the best. Great value. I will invite my friends to share their delight. 

Textual Marselan 2010, a timid red thought up in France and grown up in Mendoza

Textual, Marselam 2010, By Bodega Zucardi, USD 12
A hybrid grape from Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache Noir thought up in France and grown up somewhere in Mendoza. A timid red with nice dark red color and some fruity expression but scarce and thinny backboned. Almost no oak either, even essentially balanced it shows no attractiveness.
Like a lessen Cabernet Sauvignon and a weak Grenache. A 80 points red I wouldn´t buy twice at this price.