N: Iron, berries; Ripe, yet with a sense of restraint?

P: LM, poss Med, body; Nice, ripe, almost swtish frt braced by LOVELY acidity & a hint of astringency which morph into a very LONG, pleasantly bittersweet finish, the swtness gaining momentum as the finish progresses. No partic tannins, but the ACIDITY... Consensus was that this was MUCH younger than its ACTUAL age. AWESOME stuff that wasn't even REMOTELY tired! [Others mentioned pyrazines on the palate, which I WAS able to detect upon retasting, although for me they were integrated to the point that I would NOT have been able to parse them out had I not specifically have been LOOKING for them.] 14.3% ABV
THANK you for sharing this bottle, José! :)

N: Very slightly closed; Vanilla, smoke, earth, the earth moving forward with addt'l swirling; Intensity lurking

P: Med body; LOVELY frt fairly quickly met by very, VERY finely tannic pucker which at least somewhat resolves by the quite LONG, very, VERY SLIGHTLY, almost swtly, tannic finish with just a TRACE of occas bitterness. Though making little logical sense [based upon the "pros" & other comments here], I'd say this can still benefit from considerable time (PERHAPS through '22?) with the potential to make its 30th yr. An UNBELIEVABLE wine! :) THANK you soooooooo MUCH for sharing it, José! :) 92 pts Stephan Tanzer, 91 ea WS & WE, & Silver @ '02 Indy Int'l Wine Comp

The 1st ever version of this "Super Tuscan"?

N: Sightly closed; Vanilla, poss notes of spice, & other tough to parse elements; Intensity lurking?

P: Med, poss LM, body; Rndish entry with NICE, almost swtish frt BEAUTIFULLY balanced by an acidity which slowly, fairly seamlessly transitions into QUITE a LONG (though POSS a bit faintish), BEAUTIFULLY balanced, "pleasant" finish with VERY slight note of bitterSWTNESS from time to time. FABULOUS stuff that, while quite developed, SHOULD be good through '20, poss a tad more. [Later, after ~ 4 hrs in a sm tasting glass, I noticed some "pleasant" tannins, which I interpreted as indicating my longevity prediction MIGHT be conservative.] THANK you for including this, John L.! :)

N: VERY slightly closed; Vanilla, EARTH, berries -- tough to parse; Intensity lurking

P: Med body; NICE, almost swtish frt met by counterbalancing astringency with HINTS of VERY fine tannins, all of this slowly transitioning into a very LONG, slightly spicy, tangy finish with occas glimpses of bitterswtness. Certainly approachable now (partic with food), I'd GUESS a yr of 2 of improvement may still be possible, then EASILY making its 20th. AWESOME stuff! :) 95 pts Suckling, 92 WE, 90 Int'l Wine Cellar, 89 ea WS & WA, 17.5/20 Vinum, & 15.5/20 Jancis Robinson. THANK you for the privilege, John L.! :)

N: Slightly closed; Vanilla, smoke, earth

P: Med body; RNDISH entry with NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by a puckerish astringency which SLOWLY. SEAMLESSLY moves into a VERY LONG, spicy/tangy finish. Though certainly APPROACHABLE now, this DESERVES until '20 min, then POSS making the end of the decade. FABULOUS wine! :) 95 pts Suckling, 93 ea WE & WS, 91 Tanzer, 90 Falstaff Magazin, 89 WA, 88 Jeanne Cho Lee, & 15/20 Jancis Robinson. 13.5% ABV THANKS for contributing this, John! :)

"Old-vine Malbec (> 80 yrs of age), planted on its own roots in a 14 acre vyd @ 3,400 ft elev in the Uco Valley’s La Consulta region with yields of but 0.75 tons/acre. (The vyd has thin, sandy top-soil with round, eroded rocks under that, some volcanic ash, & is very well drained.) Fermentation took place in a small tank. At dryness, the wine was pressed & racked into FR oak barrels (100% new) where it underwent malolactic fermentation & was then aged for 15 mos. 825 unfiltered/unfined cases produced & bottled 8/21/09. 13.5% ABV, 1.53 g/l R.S., 6.11 g/l T.A., & 3.5 pH;"

N: RIPE berries with distinct notes of graphite & undertones of pyrazines? More to give!

P: Med, poss MF, body; NICE, ALMOST swtish frt with an UNCOMMON intensity met by a very, VERY finely tannic pucker which SLOWLY, SEAMLESSLY evolves into an EXTREMELY LONG, lip-smackingly tangy/swt finish with a complimentary, VERY low key bitterness (from the mid palate tannins?) which invites/DEMANDS another sip. STUPENDOUS right now, I'd suspect it to hold another 4-5 yrs, poss more! In short, AS fine a non-recently released wine™ as I can recollect having. Period. [I *dislike* giving scores, unless I can justify it as being a "value". Nonetheless, the WA is likely at least "close" on this one!] 97 pts WA, 94 WS, 93+ Vinous (Tanzer), 92 Tim Atkin, & 90 WE (5/1/11) @ $120!. John L., *THANK* you for pouring this! :) [™ I've found rating young, particularly LUSH wines to be a minefield because they sometimes (commonly?) go into hibernation before (hopefully) once again REemerging as "butterflies". However, soon closing in on its 11th anniversary, this has LONG since passed such a potential slumber.]

Cf. the CellarTracker Article link [lower lft] to get specific info for this vintage, including acclaim.

N: RIPE, berries, meat/iron, poss some smoke & iodine [THANK you for the latter, budosyu], with traces of graphite?

P: LM, poss Med, body; LOVELY, almost swtish frt met by VERY finely tannicly astringent pucker which slowly transitions into a very LONG, very, VERY slightly tannic, ult bitterSWTISH finish. Needs/DESERVES until at LEAST '22, I'm guessing, then EASILY drinking through the end of the decade, based upon this sample -- & its history of ageability.* BEAUTIFULLY, ELEGANTLY done! :) *[This was my last wine to revisit prior to departing. After ~4 hrs in a sm tasting glass @ a sun-drenched table, tannins were definitely more evident than previously, something I believe I read Michael Chapoutier commenting upon in materials I read while researching this. All that notwithstanding, while in my car later, it was ULT a swtness that remained! :) ] [While currently one MIGHT be able to beat this vendor's $179.95 by ~$11, the other prices I saw for this LIMITED availability bottling were all upwards of $200, most RADICALLY so.]

N: RIPE, smoky, cured meats; Rock candy [THANK you, budosyu] with air/swirling

P: Med body; Rndish entry with INTENSE, ALMOST swtish frt met by a balancing acidic astringency which SLOWLY, SEAMLESSLY evolves into a VERY LONG, TANGY/swt finish with notes of spice & very, VERY fine tannins. APPROACHABLE now with food, this DESERVES until mid '20, I'm guessing, then POSS making its 20th? OUTSTANDINGLY done! :) 97 pts WA, 95 Jeremy Oliver, 94 ea Huon Hooke, WS, & WE, 92 Wine & Spirits, and 91 The Wine Front! [This vendor's $139.95 is as good as anything I could find on wine-searcher.]

Addendum: I found this LESS approachable on 12/21/2018 & 10/4/19.

100% C.S. from Walnut, Cohn, Apple, Creek, Gio, & Garden Vyds; 18 mos 100% FR Oak (75% New); 13.8% ABV

N: Clsd; Vanilla, berries, smoke? Twizzlers [THANK you, budosyu] with air/swirling?

P: Med, poss MF, body; Rndish entry with ALMOST swtish frt met by a very, VERY finely tannic astringency which still shows elements of swtness. The mid palate SEAMLESSLY transitions into a very LONG, slightly spicy, TANGY/swt finish with the barest HINT of those very, VERY fine tannins. Approachable now, this DESERVES cellaring into '20, then drinking into '25, POSS somewhat longer. 97 pts ea Suckling & Vinous [although I also saw a 94 pt Vinous review?!?], 93 ea Wine & Spirits and Jeanne Cho Lee, 88 WS, 88+ WA [which bemoans the relatively low ABV], & 18/20 Jancis Robinson [who, though not STATED, perhaps likes it BECAUSE of the ABV?!?]. [This vendor's $159.95 is VERY competitive!]

40% Petit Verdot, 32% Syrah, & 28% C.S.

N: Sltly clsd; RIPE, smoke, earth -- tough to parse, beyond the notes of sandalwood to which budosyu alerted me

P: Med body; NICE, almost swtish frt QUICKLY met by puckerish, very, VERY fine tannins which only SOMEWHAT resolve by the very LONG, spicy/tangy, slightly astringent finish. NEEDS a boatload of time, say, into '22, poss longer? However, the potential is there -- assuming they didn't go for TOO much extraction with this wine. 96 pts Jeb Dunnuck [This vendor's $64.95 is a WHOPPING $10 < than anyone else currently listed on wine-searcher!]