Achával-Ferrer Malbec 2010

The 2010 Malbec was sourced from three vineyards, two of which are 66 and 86 years of age, with the wine aged for 9 months in French oak. It is a super-fragrant offering featuring racy red fruits, spice box, incense, and floral notes. Pure, sweetly-fruited, and elegant in the glass, this intense, lengthy Malbec can be approached now and over the next 6andndash;8 years.

Medium red-ruby. Blueberry, blackberry, menthol and bitter chocolate on the nose. Juicy, intense and fine-grained, with a restrained sweetness and enticing peppery lift to the flavors of dark berries, violet, licorice and game. This reminded me in weight and flavor of a Saint-Joseph. Finishes with a fine dusting of tannins and good savory persistence.

The 2010 Malbec was sourced from three vineyards, two of which are 66 and 86 years of age, with the wine aged for 9 months in French oak. It is a super-fragrant offering featuring racy red fruits, spice box, incense, and floral notes. Pure, sweetly-fruited, and elegant in the glass, this intense, lengthy Malbec can be approached now and over the next 6–8 years.

This lovely red displays aromas of violet and crushed raspberry, following through to a medium-bodied palate, which lingers with a pleasant aftertaste of licorice and mint. Drink now.

Ripe and concentrated, this simple, substantial malbec turns the volume up high on its oak and black fruit. It should mellow with two or three years in the bottle-or decant now for a grilled steak.

Winemakers Notes - The resulting character of the 2010 vintage - Very balanced. Soft tannins and ripe tannins, present in enough quantity for the wines to have structure and skeleton. Piercing and haunting aromas. More mineral character and terroir specificity than any recent vintage!

The 2005 Malbec of which there are 6500 cases, is a fine introduction to the style of Achaval-Ferrer. Sourced from three vineyards with vines ranging from 12 to 85 years of age with yields averaging a modest 2.4 tons per acre, the wine was aged for 9 months in seasoned French oak and 4 months in tank before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Dark ruby/purple in color, it offers up an enticing perfume of toasty oak, milk chocolate, coconut, black cherry, and blackberry, leading to a medium-bodied wine with ample ripe black fruits, excellent balance, and nicely concealed soft tannins. The wine will evolve for several years but can be enjoyed now.