Wine & Spirits - October 2020 - 86

YEAR'S BEST MENDOZA MALBECS

125919

125797

92 | Enrique Foster

$21

92 | Goulart

$78

2017 Uco Valley Finca Los Barrancos Malbec ^ A fresh and clean 2017, with Andean
coolness to its red-berry flavors, this is foresty
and earthy. Pleasantly bitter floral notes contrast the wine's sweet, spicy fruit, and there's
a briskness to the acidity that's unusual in
malbec. § Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., NY
125796
2009 Lunlunta Grand Vin Single Vineyard Old Vines Malbec ^ This comes from a
12-acre vineyard planted in 1915 by Gastao
Goulart, a Brazilian military leader, the year
he was exiled to Argentina. The bodega is
now run by his granddaughter, Erika Goulart, who works with agronomist Mauricio
Parodi to sustain the old vines. Their concentrated fruit comes through in this wine's
dense, jammy, caramel-lined flavors, as well
as in its steadfast resistance to oxygen. Aged
for 14 months in new oak, and many more
years in bottle, the wine has developed notes
of leather, tobacco and tea, but it still feels
vibrant, sustaining its balance for days after
opening. § Opici Wines, Glen Rock, NJ
125757

92 | Lamadrid

$23

2018 Agrelo Single Vineyard Reserva Malbec ^ Winemaker Hector Durigutti crafted a
fresh, fruit-forward malbec in 2018, working with young-vine fruit and fourth-use oak
barrels. Give it time in the glass and a dark
earthiness comes up to lend the bright fruit
some gravitas. This is refreshing and elegant,
a flexible red to crack open before dinner,
and drink throughout the meal. § Vino del Sol,
Corralitos, CA

125882

92 | Loscano

$25

92 | Luca

$35

2018 Uco Valley Grand Reserve Malbec ^
Ripe, plummy fruit and the sweet vanilla
flavors of American oak point this malbec in a steakhouse direction, the wine big
and brazen. As black as its fruit may be, it
remains brisk and lifted, with a sappy herbal
spice playing around the edges. Pour it with
a thick-cut steak grilled over charcoal. § Artel
Brands, Minneapolis, MN
125924
2018 Uco Valley Old Vine Malbec ^ Laura
Catena, now managing director of her family's winery, created this brand to explore
Argentina's varied terroirs. This bottling
comes from vineyards in La Consulta and
Gualtallary, the average age of the vines
51 years. Luis Reginato makes it with a
restrained hand, aging most of the wine
in used barrels. After 14 months in oak,
the wine's tannins have taken on a velvety
texture, and its flavors are spicy and lean.
Focused on savory notes of cherry skins and
cool, mineral-rich earth, it's an elegant malbec. § Vine Connections, Sausalito, CA
125790

92 | Norton

92 | Los Medanos

$22

92 | Puramun

$29

2019 Mendoza Malbec ^ This is a wine from
Vinecol, a company that farms 247 acres
under organics, their vines bordering the
Ñacuñan biosphere, a 78,000-acre UNESCOrun reserve. And there's a touch of that arid
land's wildness in this malbec's floral scents
and meaty smokiness, as well as the mix of
tart and lushy ripe berries and leaves. It's
rich, with a fruit-skin snap and a balsamic
note that brings to mind a pairing with redwine risotto. § Red Puro, Newark, NJ
125450
2016 Uco Valley Reserva Malbec ^ José
"Pepe" Galante launched this winery in 2011,
after 34 years of making wine at Catena. His
focus is the high altitudes of the Uco Valley,
where the cool temperatures allow malbec to
ripen slowly. The effect, in this wine, is a malbec that has plenty of acidity to lift its juicy,
fleshy purple fruit; it also has notes of violets
and herbs that accent its freshness. It's full
bodied and elegant, with firm, smooth tannins that make it approachable now. (W&S
6/20) § Vino del Sol, Corralitos, CA

$105

2016 Luján de Cuyo Gernot Langes ^ A
blend of fruit off the estate's oldest vines, half
of it malbec, with 40 percent cabernet franc
and 10 percent cabernet sauvignon, this aged
in French oak barrels for 14 months. It's as
saturated in flavor as it is in color, a royal
purple with velvety depth. For all its concentration, the wine retains a fresh, floral edge,
a lift that makes it uncannily easy to drink. §
Kobrand, Purchase, NY

125932

92 | Tapiz

$20

2018 Uco Valley Alta Collection San Pablo
Vineyard Malbec (Best Buy) ^ Jean-Claude
Berrouet, former cellarmaster of Château
Pétrus in Bordeaux, joined the Tapiz team
in 2013, and worked with Fabian Valenzuela
on this wine. It's a selection from the estate's
San Pablo vineyard, which sits at 4,430 feet
in elevation. Fermented in stainless steel and
aged for a year in an array of barrels (new
and old, French and American oak), the wine
feels cool and sleek. Herbal notes trace the
86

WINE & SPIRITS

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Wine & Spirits - October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2020
