Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - The fifth vintage of this wine. A blend of Malbec (88%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (12%) from 60-80 yo vineyards. 15% of the juice was bled off before fermentation in order to increase the must concentration. 6 days of cold soak followed by fermentation and maceration of 27 days. Aged for 20 months in oak barriques (88% new). 14,8% alcohol, 3,3 g/l residual sugar, 6,0 g/l acidity, 0,61 g/l volatile acidity and pH 3,47. 4466 bottles made. Tasted blind.

Dense, concentrated and fully opaque black cherry color. The hedonistic nose feels concentrated, very ripe and somewhat developed with intense aromas of wizened dark fruits, some minty herbal tones, a little bit of toasted wood, light raisiny notes and a zesty hint of citrus fruits. The wine is dense, full-bodied and concentrated on the palate with bold flavors of sweet dark fruits, some raisiny tones, a little bit of minty herbal character, light chocolatey oak tones, a hint of prunes and a touch of savory wood spice. The structure relies mostly on the firm and moderately grippy tannins as the acidity feels quite soft and modest under all the fruit. The high alcohol lends some noticeable heat to the mouthfeel. The finish is long, tannic and somewhat warm with powerful flavors of raisins, some wizened red plums, a little bit of sweet chocolatey oak, light minty herbaceous tones, a hint of extracted woody bitterness and a touch of ripe dark fruit.

A massively big, concentrated and structured super-Malbec made in the hedonistic blockbuster style that is so typical of both Chile and the 00's. Overall the wine is perhaps a bit too over-the-top for my taste, but it is surprisingly well-behaved compared to many other Chilean "cult wines" - or then the age just has done the wine good, integrating some of the most obvious oak character and making the wine drop all the excessive baby fat. It's funny how the winery feels this vintage has aging potential until 2016, but to me this wine feels like it is still going upwards in 2019 and could really use some more years to lose those sweeter, chocolatey oak tones. All in all, a relatively enjoyable wine for what it is - a monolithic new world blockbuster. Priced according to its quality at 45€.

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