2004 Tomás Achával Malbec Nomade

• By Stephen Tanzer
  January/February 2008, IWC Issue #136, (See more on Vinous...)

  (Tomas Achaval Malbec Nomade Mendoza) Login and sign up and see review text.

RJonWine.com

• By Richard Jennings
  8/21/2013, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 91 points

  (Tomás Achával Malbec Nomade) Opaque, slightly bricking red violet color; mature, tart plum, violets, baked plum nose; tasty, rich, ripe black fruit, plum, violets palate with sweet, firm tannins; should go for 5-plus more years; medium-plus finish (14.5% alcohol)

• By Richard Jennings
  12/24/2008, (See more on RJonWine.com...) 91 points

  (Tomás Achával Malbec Nomade) Opaque, purple violet color; nice boysenberry, berry, ripe plum and sage nose, with a touch of charcoal; tasty tart black fruit and charcoal palate with strands of berry, all in all a more complex Malbec than most I've had; medium dry finish 91+ pts.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  5/8/2008, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (NOMADE Malbec) Malbec Dear Friends, We rarely carry wine from Argentina so this is an interesting adventure for us as well. There are times when you need a sultry, go-to wine with immense appeal and this wine may be your favorite little secret in the years ahead (it’s also naturally farmed and eco-sensitive in production). You can pull this out with confidence at almost any occasion and a very wide variety of palates will be very pleased you’ve introduced them to the Nomade... Tomas Achaval, the inspiration behind Nomade, sums up the potential of this corner of the mountainous world: “The Andes are a gigantic, unexplored area. You can find virgin valleys with unlimited potential for vineyards, vineyards that were planted in the early 1900's, vineyards located in the highest altitudes, growers who still use ancient techniques and varieties that develop in a superb way”. He has taken this tradition and pushed it into the new century in a most admirable way - all with the consumer in mind. For Achaval, this is more than wine, this is his life and calling card - it is his passion and reason for greeting each day with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning. If he can provide healthful, sustainably farmed wine for the end-consumer that just happens to be of the utmost quality, then he is doing his part to help reverse the failings of the world. The Nomade Malbec is sourced from 70-90 year old vines in the heart of the finest zone for the grape (high elevation and intense heating degree days make for an enticing extract/acid ratio that would be admired around the world - think southern Rhone Syrah grown in the Alps and you will be close). The yields are extremely small and what wine they are able to press ferments in steel until it is ready to be transferred to old and new barrels. It is aged for a further 12-18 month and then put into bottle - that’s it. No tricks or additions - all naturally farmed with the advantage of the high elevation and its Darwinian effect on pests in a low-oxygen environment. Many bugs like to breath just as we do and when they can’t, they struggle like you and I climbing Mount Everest without an oxygen tank. Dense, silky, deeply colored and full of life, this deceptively easy to drink and concentrated wine is a true delight. It stays true to the medium bodied, almost Rioja-esque body that is central to Malbec’s nature but the old-vines cannot be denied and their sap buffers the wine with an overall package of lightly earth-laded ripe fruit tones that are never heavy. To be brief, a wine like this at this price is not only a gift from mother nature it is a gift for the budget-minded wine-lover that is looking for the highest quality at a palatable price. We try a lot of wine (and I stress the “a lot” part) before we find something like this at this price-point. Think of this as the new-school for those that have graduated beyond Shiraz or anything that is in-your-face but still desires the richness of fruit with less obvious sweetness. This wine would be a terrific choice for a wedding or other event where knowledgeable wine collectors are attending (next to complete neophytes) and you don’t want to break the bank. A lovely wine that will find many friends. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as a terrific value and worthy entity to support: 2004 Nomade Malbec (La Consulta/Mendoza) FIRST COME FIRST SERVED at this price up to 12/person until we run out Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Arg9000