Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 74

YEAR'S BEST
MENDOZA MALBECS
Our blind panels tasted 213 Mendoza malbecs over the past 12 months. Tara Q.
Thomas, our critic for Argentina, rated 46 as exceptional (90+) and 15 as Best Buys.
Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.
124799

95 | Zuccardi

$30

2018 Tupungato Alto Poligonos Malbec ^
Zuccardi's Poligonos range is designed to
show off the different terroirs of the Uco
Valley. This wine, from one of the highest
points in Tupungato, stuns in its purity, the
red fruit flavors seeming to radiate sunshine
and coolness with Andean clarity. The fruit
flavors have a crisp snap, like the skin of a
fresh-picked cherry yielding to a bite; their
acidity sets off the fruit sweetness, intensifying the flavor. The wine feels full and round,
filled out by fine-grit tannins, yet shapely
and energetic, redefining what's possible in
Argentine malbec. § Winesellers, Niles, IL
124445

94 | Catena Zapata

$160

2016 Mendoza River Stones Adrianna
Malbec ^ This malbec grows on the site of an
old riverbed, where the currents left behind
smooth stones coated with calcium carbonate. The high altitude of the site and these
calcium-rich soils grow elegant malbec, lean
and bright in its tangy acidity. The wine
feels fresh and vibrant, with scents of roses
and pine needles, while the cocoa-fine tannins give it a steady, settled feel. It gets more
detailed after a day open, suggesting that this
will continue to evolve with more time in the
bottle. § MundoVino/The Winebow Group, NY

rals. With three-quarters of the wine aged
in 7,000-liter oak casks, the rest in new barriques, the tannins have turned pillowy and
broad; they wrap around the fruit with a
nutty, tobacco-scented richness. Savory and
subdued, it's an elegant malbec that holds its
freshness for days after opening. § Palm Bay
Int'l, Port Washington, NY
124556

94 | Salentein

$19

94 | Zuccardi

$91

2017 Gualtallary Reserve Malbec (Best
Buy) ^ This may be a fraction of the price of
Salentein's Primum Malbec (also recommended here), but it's just as good, in a completely different style. There's no spicy oak
or tobacco-scented tannins boosting the fruit
here; instead, it's just pure, fresh, floral malbec, purple and bright. Herbal notes add a
cool spice, giving it a vibrant Andean feel. §
Palm Bay Int'l, Port Washington, NY
124801
2015 Paraje Altamira Aluvional ^ The Zuccardis were among the first producers to label
their wines Paraje Altamira, an appellation
in the higher reaches of the Uco Valley officially recognized in 2014. This wine, from
vines only about 15 years old, is dark and
plummy, tight tannins wrapping the black
fruit like a fist. With time in the glass, the
tannins soften, taking on the smoothness
of river stones, allowing blackberry fruit to
juice up the wine, but this needs time or air
to reveal its detail. Cellar it for another year,
or decant it to serve with rosemary-roasted
lamb. § Winesellers, Niles, IL
124463

93 | Viña 1924 de Angeles

124542

94 | Salentein

$65

2014 Uco Valley Primum Malbec ^ A selection of the top fruit from Salentein's 5,000acre estate in the heights of the Uco Valley,
this radiates freshness, although not in the
usual crunchy-red-fruit way. Instead, it has
the petrichor scent of summer air after a
refreshing rain, hinting at salinity and flo74

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2019

$25

2014 Luján de Cuyo Malbec ^ From a nearly
century-old vineyard planted on its own
roots in the deep sandy loam of Vistalba,
one of the highest points in Luján de Cuyo,
this is almost syrah-like in its peppery, lilacscented purple fruit, yet it's pure malbec in
its smooth, round tannins. Those tannins
seem to hold the fruit in a state of perpetual
youth, the wine's freshness remarkable for a
five-year-old wine. § V.O.S. Selections, NY
124620

93 | Andeluna

$20

93 | Finca Decero

$22

2017 Tupungato Altitud Malbec (Best
Buy) ^ Silvio Alberto worked with wine consultant Michel Rolland to craft this wine, a
vineyard selection of fruit from high-altitude vineyards in Tupungato, fermented in
stainless-steel tanks and aged in French and
American oak casks for a year. It's dark and
extracted, with a reductive stink at first; then
the fruit emerges, like sunlight from behind
a cloud: clear, bright and piercing in its clarity. The flavors last, unevolved for now, just
filled with the pure purple strength of malbec. § MHW, Manhasset, NY
123375
2017 Mendoza Remolinos Vineyard Malbec ^ Swiss billionaire Thomas Schmidheiny
launched this estate in 2000, settling on a
barren plateau in Agrelo at 3,500 feet altitude. The winds here skate across the soil-a
mix of alluvial deposits and sandy loam over
gravel-whipping up small remolinos, little
whirlwinds of dust. The winery claims these
remolinos are critical to the quality of their
wines, keeping the grapevines dry and free
from disease after it rains. Credit also goes to
Tomás Hughes, a Mendoza native who joined
the winery as winemaker in 2014 after stints
at Achaval Ferrer in the Uco Valley and with
Daniel Pi at Trapiche. In 2017, Hughes turned
out a floral, fresh malbec that sings with clarity. Lush with plummy flavors, it feels supple
and energetic, the bright acidity impelling
the wine forward. It stays lively and lifted,
lasting on scents of wildflowers, herbs and
fresh purple fruit. (W&S 2/19) § Vintus, Pleasantville, NY
124339

93 | MAAL

$199

Mendoza Paciencia X XI XII ^ A blend of the
winery's best barrel from each of three vintages (2010, '11 and '12, in this case), all fermented with ambient yeasts, this is a plush,
hedonistic wine in an Old-World style. All
coffee and caramel at first, with balsamic
acidity playing around the edges, the wine
becomes fresher as it drinks in air, notes of
roasted plums and strawberry jam developing alongside complex spice. Those flavors
last, held by the wine's cashmere tannins,
lofty and warm. Only 900 bottles were made;
if you score one, open it after dinner, to contemplate far into the night. § Vineyard Brands,
Birmingham, AL
124543

93 | Salentein

$58

2015 Uco Valley Single Vineyard San
Pablo Estate Plot N 14 Malbec ^ Winemaker
José Galante pulls this wine from one of
Salentein's highest plots in the Uco Valley,

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Wine & Spirits - October 2019

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