Taste: I recently tasted this wine with the sommelier for the new Epic Roasthouse on the waterfront, and she said it was the best Malbec she has ever tasted at this price point. The wine is dark purple, with a spicy nose of blue-tinted fruit. On the palate notice bold, dark luscious fruit enveloped by a backbone of smooth, silky tannin that you've come to expect from great Malbecs. Smoky and graceful, this wine exudes "terroir." Drinks great right now but definitely shows you it has the structure to lie down and age gracefully.
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 became friends while spending a glorious week of non-stop wine tasting at Vinexpo in Bordeaux. 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 51 Lujan de Cuyo 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 had normally not left the country previously as domestic consumption and knowledge had kept them at home. Originally from France, Malbec was introduced into Argentina in the 1860s. 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 Malbec has been embraced by the Argentines as their national variety.
Lot 52 comes from the Uco Valley just outside Mendoza, probably one of the most stunning settings for a vineyard I have ever seen. The "valley" is actually at 1,200 metres and right at the base of the Andes mountains. The reason that this area is gaining prominence is that along with the abundance of solar radiation it has significant thermal differences. The consequence is slower maturation which, in the case of red wines, results in the tannins and the color becoming fixed in the grape skins, giving an added intensity and structure. Also, since this is a slightly cooler area the wine has retained good acidity, which is encouraged for prolonged aging.
As it is one of the cooler regions it is also one of the newly developed regions, and the winery is a trans-located example of a winery from the Napa Valley. Impeccably laid out, nothing is left to chance. Even the labels have their own temperature-controlled room while awaiting application to the bottle. The facilities are used by some of the world's most famous winemakers, and while the scope for experimentation continues we have crafted an example of Malbec that shines with some of the other facets of this appealing varietal. The intensity of flavour continuum persists with characters like spice, anis, thyme, and light tobacco. It was a subject of little debate during the tasting, but the agreement was that this wine will become the stronger of the siblings given a bit of aging.
Customers who bought this wine also bought these:
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Lot 93 2004 Rioja Tempranillo |
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Lot 110 2007 Los Carneros Pinot Noir |
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Lot 114 2007 Sonoma County Zinfandel |
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Lot 107 2005 Napa County Meritage |
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Lot 125 2007 Napa Carneros Pinot Noir |
