Lot 51
Vintage: 2004
Appellation:
Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza Argentina
Grape:
Malbec
Alcohol by volume: 14.5%
Production: 3,300 cases
Release date: December 1, 2007
Availability: December 2007
Taste: Fruit attack of bracken berries and bold blue fruit aromatics. On the palate this wine shows that same fruit with hints of violets and soft oak undertones. Juicy fruit mingles with good structural acidity that provides excellent length and structure. This wine is considerably Italian in style (super-smooth) and shows remarkable fruit purity. Years of barrel time have softened this wine beautifully.
Cameron Confidential:
This wine comes to us from a couple of gentlemen down in the Southern Hemisphere who retired out of the finance world to follow their dreams. We’ve become friends after spending a glorious week of non-stop wine tasting at VinExpo in Bordeaux. If I was to tell you the guy’s last name you would understand even better the Italian comment above. But, alas, we promise anonymity in exchange for unbelievable pricing. They somehow heard about us from friends here in the states and sent up samples. I bought the first two wines they put in front of me, the second wine being the Lot 52 Valle de Uco Malbec, again from Mendoza.
Winemaker John visited the winery to oversee the bottling and sent up these notes:
Comprising almost the entire southern half of South America, Argentina is the world's eighth largest country. Argentina possesses some of the world's tallest mountains, expansive deserts, exciting waterfalls and wonderful wines. A lot of these wines have normally not left the country previously as domestic consumption and knowledge have kept them at home. Originally from France, Malbec was introduced into Argentina in the 1860’s. The abundance of sunshine – the sun is on the national flag - suits the variety perhaps more so than its origin and now produces softer tannin and richer fruit styles and has been embraced by the Argentines as their national variety.
Lot 51 is the first release of a Malbec from CH Wines and is followed immediately by another one in Lot 52. 2004
Lot 51 is comes from the region of Lujan de Cuyo in Mendoza and exemplifies what juicy, fruit wines are all about. We have deliberately aimed for the rich flavorsome style that you would also find at an Argentine bar-b-que. The wine has been made in one of the revamped family wineries that are producing stunning and interesting examples. Fermentation of these wines is in concrete tanks which allows for a great management technique for the fermentation. Once the ferment starts we drain off about 70 percent of the juice to another tank and pump it all back again into the skins. What this does is give the ferment some valuable aeration that the yeast just loves. It keeps the wine fresh from the beginning. It is a technique known as delestage and is fairly common in winemaking circles. While a lot of red wines are made in stainless steel tanks however the concrete tanks – with walls as thick as your arm is long – keep a consistent temperature which is also highly desirable in winemaking as well. Lot 51 is holding all that fruit and intensity and shows what a desirable variety Malbec is. It is also one of the few varieties that are able to be used in Meritage blends. I tasted both Lot 51 and 52 when they arrived recently in the US and this wine is the one to “attack� first due to its all encompassing fruit flavours. While on the surface the wine appears soft – the variety begs to be paired with steak. It won’t disappoint you, don’t disappoint it.
