Outstanding
95–97pts
Gen del Alma, Crua Chan Gualta Malbec, Gualtallary 2016
Decanter average score: 97/100pts Individual judges’ scores: Phil Crozier 97 Paz Levinson 97 Patricio Tapia 97 £42 Bottle Apostle, Dunells, Drinkmonger Gen del Alma is the project of Gerardo Michelini and his wife (and fellow winemaker) Andrea Muffato. Set up in 2012, the 7ha estate is relatively small by Argentinian standards, yet the wines retain the Michelini hallmarks of purity, minerality and freshness. The grapes for this cuvée are from younger Malbec vines grown on chalky soils, fermented in cement amphorae with around 30% whole clusters, before being moved to 500-litre barriques for malolactic conversion.
Phil Crozier Deep, lush, powerful, yet beautifully balanced. Fantastic!
Paz Levinson Violet-infused blueberries, lavender and cassis leap from the glass. Wonderful purity, tension: one of the best Malbecs on earth!
Patricio Tapia A great wine with a real sense of place, and so energetic. Drink 2017-2024 Alcohol 14%
Susana Balbo, Signature Malbec, Altamira 2015 97 PC 97 PL 97 PT 96
£28.50
Field & Fawcett, Good Wine Online, The Vineyard One of the most recognisable names in South America’s wine industry, Susana Balbo was the first woman in Argentina to receive an oenology degree when she graduated in 1981. She created her eponymous estate in 1999 after more than 20 years as a consultant winemaker, and today she is aided by her children José and Anna. With the new generation has come continued evolution in the winery, with considerably less oak now used than previously. This cuvée has seen 30% new oak for 13 months, and has around 5% Petit Verdot in the final blend.
PC Soft and round, with a gorgeous generosity and purity of fruit, heightened by a smack of acidity on the very considerable finish. Lovely.
PL Deep and complex aromas of dark plum, pepper and spice. Beautifully textured, elegant and layered on the palate with finegrained tannins persisting to a long-lingering finish.
PT A textbook Altamira with minty red fruit, while being tense and charming in its herbal tones.
Drink 2017-2025 Alc 14.5%
Los Clop, Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Paraje Altamira 2015 97 PC 97 PL 97 PT 97
N/A UK
www.bodegadelosclop.com José Clop, a Spanish immigrant, founded Los Clop back in 1880, and today the estate is run by his great-grandchildren. In total this encompasses 350ha of vineyards spread over Maipú as well as San Martín. The wine itself is fermented with indigenous yeasts, with the temperature being kept during this time at 28°C. The finished wine is then aged in oak barrels for 12 months.
PC Cassis and mint on the nose, then it’s tense in the mouth with a delightful purity of fruit and finely judged oak on the finish.
PL A beautiful, classic example of its kind, with dark fruit to the fore and boasting exquisitely integrated alcohol and structured yet unobtrusive tannins. Sublime!
PT When Altamira is good, it’s simply great. This has deep flavours of blackberry and strawberry, allied to a magnificent tannic structure. A wine for the cellar.
Drink 2017-2024 Alc 14%
Finca Sophenia, Reserve Malbec, Gualtallary 2016 96 PC 95 PL 96 PT 96
£17.95
Ellis of Richmond Finca Sophenia is the creation of Roberto Luka, sometime president of Wines of Argentina, its name from an amalgam of daughters Sophie and Eugenia. Rogelio Rabino is head winemaker, with Matías Michelini in a consulting role. The vines are spread over 130ha of sandy and rocky soils at an altitude of 1,200m. Among their most treasured holdings here are the plantings of low-yielding Malbec clones. Following fermentation, the grapes are macerated with the skins for 10 days, after which the wines spend around a year in oak.
PC Very deep and dark aromas unfold onto a palate flaunting a breathtaking concentration of fruit. Looks, feels and tastes expensive.
PL Intense aromas of floral-tinged black cherry and blueberry fruit, with a beautiful length and elegance of herbal and floral black fruit on the palate.
PT This is absolutely what Gualtallary should deliver: a feast of fruit and flowers, bright acidity and bags of tension.
Drink 2017-2024 Alc 13.5% ➢
Passionate Wine, Micheliniwine @ Parcela 84 Malbec, Gualtallary 2014
96 PC 95 PL 96 PT 96 POA Las Bodegas As well as his involvement in various other projects, including Finca Sophenia and Zorzal, Matías Michelini runs Passionate Wine, where his enthusiasm and creativity are given free rein. He is affectionately known as the ‘green Michelini’, a name he earned while working at Doña Paula, due to his desire to pick the grapes early to retain freshness. Once iconoclastic, such ideas are proving increasingly influential. He produces a number of small-lot experimental cuvées, farming biodynamically. This one comes, unsurprisingly, from a plot numbered 84, on sandy soils.
PC Pure and pretty on the nose, with a lot of emphasis on the fruit. Juicy black fruit on the palate, with well-judged oak. Very good indeed.
PL Fresh red and black fruit on the nose, very clean. Protracted and well-constructed palate, clearly the result of very good winemaking.
PT In a ripe and mellow style, this flows beautifully across the palate. Drink 2017-2023 Alc 14%
Zuccardi, Aluvional, Paraje Altamira 2014 96
PC 96 PL 96 PT 96 POA
Watermill Wines Founded in 1963 by engineer Alberto Zuccardi, this family estate is now run by the second generation José Alberto and his son Sebastián. Given its 16 million-litre production, they still show a considerable appetite for experimentation. As well as creating a R&D centre in 2008, Sebastián is the winemaker for this terroir-specific range. This example, 100% Malbec grown on stratified alluvial soil over limestone gravel, was fermented with some full clusters using indigenous yeasts, half the wine seeing oak and the rest in concrete. Bottled unfiltered.
PC Brandishes a gorgeous purity of fruit and seamless tannins, but with just enough firmness to see it through. Cellar and it will reward. Lovely.
PL Vibrant nose of pure red and black fruit, augmented by hints of violet and mint. Bright and energetic in the mouth with beautifully textured, satiny tannins and invigorating acidity, as Altamira should be.
PT Bright and shiny – feels almost light, yet nervous and tense. Drink 2017-2024 Alc 14%
Rutini, Single Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Gualtallary 2014 96 PC 97 PL 95 PT 95
POA
Carson Wines Felipe Rutini, an agro-engineer from Le Marche in Italy, established this bodega in 1885 with ‘Labour and Perseverance’ as its motto. The intervening years have included its acquisition by Nicolás Catena and José Benegas-Lynch in 1994. Since then Mariano Di Paola, formerly professor of oenology at Don Bosco University, has been making the wines. As well as overseeing a move to fully modernise the facilities in 2008, Di Paola has been determined to continue to invest in innovation; today the winery in Tupungato boasts an optical grape sorter, roto oak fermenters, cement eggs and a diamond-shaped tank.
PC Beautiful purity on the nose, then sweet black fruit accompanied by a satisfying line of tension from the green pepper characters.
PL Bordeaux-style, with classy oak aromas leading to a very well constructed palate. Substantial tannins and an enduring finish.
PT A fine and refreshing expression of Cabernet Franc, brimming with herbal and floral-imbued red fruit.
Drink 2017-2022 Alc 14%
Zuccardi, Polígonos, Paraje Altamira 2015 96 PC 97 PL 95 PT 95
N/A UK
www.familiazuccardi.com Zuccardi’s other outstanding wine here is another 100% Malbec from selected plots of its own vines in Altamira, again grown on alluvial soils but in this case over clay-covered stones. Unlined cement vats were used for the fermentation with indigenous yeasts and for the wine’s maturation. No oak was used, to highlight texture and minerality. The Altamira bottlings are from one of a range of sub-regions (including Vista Flores, La Consulta, La Ribera, and San Pablo) within the Uco Valley that Sebastián is keen to highlight.
PC A great expression of Altamira, with minty, cedar notes on the nose, leading to bright and fresh raspberry and cherry flavours.
PL Intense nose of toasty black fruit, then a beautifully textured palate with layered complexity and integrated, graceful tannins. Fantastic.
PT Tense and bright, with the spotlight on its brilliant red fruit – so refreshing, minty and crunchy.
Drink 2017-2027 Alc 14%
Bodegas Escorihuela Gascón 1884, Organic Vineyard Malbec, Altamira 2016 95 PC 96 PL 94 PT 95
POA
Bibendum PLB As its name suggests, this bodega was founded in 1884 by a certain Señor Miguel Escorihuela Gascón, at the tender age of 23, having arrived from Aragón in Spain four years previously. Today the bodega is the oldest working winery in Mendoza. Bought by Catena in 1993, the old winery has been supplemented by a new facility in Agredo since 2008. Notable among Catena wines for the fact that some of the land is now worked biodynamically; winemaking is handled by Gustavo Marín.
PC Stunningly pure on the nose, aromas of mint and eucalyptus, while mulberry joins sour cherry fruit on the palate – plenty of potential.
PL A medium-bodied, vibrant and seamless style. Pristine fruit with a beautiful mouthfeel, and the alcohol feels super well-integrated.
PT A bright and tense depiction of Malbec, this has enough acidity and red fruit flavour to refresh and enhance any meal.
Drink 2017-2024 Alc 13%
SoloContigo, Affaire, Altamira 2015
95 PC 95 PL 95 PT 95 N/A UK www.solocontigowine.com The grapes for this Malbec come from two different micro-regions within the Uco Valley: 85% from Altamira, and 15% from SoloContingo’s vineyard in Los Chacayes. The grapes were hand-sorted twice, first as whole clusters and then as individual berries, before the two parcels were vinified separately. The Altamira fruit was macerated for just four days, rather than six for the Chacayes, but then fermented for longer, spending 15 days in concrete as opposed to 10 days in oak. The wine was then aged in 50% new and 50% second-use French oak for a year.
PC Soft, enveloping warmth on the nose, with juicy black fruit and wonderfully seamless tannins in the mouth. Gorgeous.
PL Very bright, youthful black fruit on the nose, while the palate immediately draws you in with its velvety black fruit, minty savouriness and intense acidity. Harmonious yet complex.
PT Intense and ripe, in a really good way, while also firm and complex. Drink 2018-2028 Alc 14.5% £42
Good Wine Online The second Outstanding wine at this tasting from Gerardo Michelini and Andrea Muffato; this is a new addition to their range, and is also from Gualtallary. As with all their wines, the emphasis is on freshness and purity of fruit. In the cellar, the pair prefer to use indigenous yeasts for fermentation, often adding a proportion of whole clusters, and the wines are vinified using concrete eggs and previously used barriques.
PC Rich, floral aromas open out onto a palate of great structure and concentration, with dense, dark fruit. A great expression of Gualtallary.
PL Intense, fruit-driven nose of plums and cherries is mirrored on the palate – a medium-bodied, fine-grained, refreshing and seemingly light style, but at the same time it feels serious.
PT So brilliant and brimming with fruit, this is so seductive in its flavours of dark cherry and strawberry.
Drink 2017-2022 Alc 15%
Zorzal, Eggo Franco, Gualtallary 2015
95 PC 95 PL 95 PT 95 £13.93-£18.49 Exel, Great Wines Direct, Hallgarten Druitt, Hic, Strictly Wine Another Michelini Brothers production. This time it’s the turn of Juan Pablo as winemaker. He shares with Gerardo and Matías (who acts as consultant here) an ethos focusing on regionality over grape variety. In this case it is a Cabernet Franc from Tupungato in Gualtallary, at an altitude of 1,350m. The soil here is alluvial, with a particularly high concentration of calcium carbonate. The wine is fermented in concrete eggs, with about 50% of the wine kept with the skins for around 40 days, before going back into the eggs for a further nine months.
PC A scintillating expression of Cabernet Franc, very pretty on the nose, with firm tannins and fresh acidity on the palate. Drinking now.
PL Dark berries and bell pepper nose leads to an energetic palate with refreshing, herbal-edged black fruit.
PT Refreshing and vibrant yet soft and round, with a lovely interwoven acidity and a gentle spiciness.
Drink 2017-2021 Alc 13.5% ➢