2017 El Enemigo Gran Enemigo

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 90.4 points

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  3/18/2023 - camdawg Likes this wine: 94 Points

  I like Argentine Malbec. For $25 or less, you can buy some pretty tasty wines from makers like Tapiz. And the Zapata family wines at that price have always seemed pretty good to me.
  
  This of course is a big step up. It's not 100 percent Malbec - it's a Bordeaux style blend with Malbec leading the way at 50 percent. If there's a usual knock on Malbec, it's that it's big and dark fruited. You need to have it with a serious meat dish in order for it not to overwhelm your palate.
  
  The nose on this wine suggests you're in for something much better. You get the classic purple and dark fruit first, but then you get warmer and brighter fruit like cranberry cutting through. That suggests you'll have good acidity to balance out the dark fruit.
  
  And that's exactly what I got on the palate. It's the acidity that carries the wine throughout my palate. The mouthfeel is also very smooth.
  
  It's a well balanced, beautiful wine that would cost $50 to $75 more if it were from Napa Valley. For those who enjoy pricy Napa reds, give this a chance!

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  10/6/2022 - SH Wu wrote: 89 Points

  Jammy dark fruits on the palate lead to a lengthy, somewhat savory finish. Chocolate, hazelnut and mocha type cask influences match well with the velvety tannins and make this a heavy but easy drink.
  
  I may not have appreciated this as much as I should given this was pop and poured in a casual tasting. The signs were all there for a strong bordeaux blend from a good producer, but I just didn't feel there was enough concentration or integration of its complexities.
  
  I'll have to revisit this again.

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  10/3/2022 - pavese Does not like this wine: 88 Points

  It has good fruit purity (sour cherry, blackberry) and intensity, but not much else.

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  9/17/2022 - WineGuyX Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Despite spending all day in decanter, the nose is somewhat reticent but shows black fruits, florals, pyrazines, some oak and earth. The palate shows an intense oyster shell salinity and black pepper with excellent refinement and elegance. This isn't a show-stopper at the moment, but really shows its breeding. I'm not sure how this will age over the long-haul (but given the balance, acidity and tight texture, this might reach age 20 in fine shape), but this could definitely use another 2 years in the cellar. Drink from 2024 94+

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  6/3/2022 - Ernestas wrote: flawed

  Would of been exceptional BB if not flawed with cork taint, luckily it was only aroma impaired, the palate was flawless. A blend of 50% Malbec, 20% CS, 15% CF, 10% Merlot and 5% PV, aged for 18 months in old FR oak foudres. Medium light aroma of blackberries, blueberries, herbs, liquorice, hints of wet cardboard. Full body, powerful, rich and dense with lush black fruit, chocolate, and herbal flavours, fine sandy tannins, lengthy finish.

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View all 7 Community Tasting Notes

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