2008 Mendel Finca ReMota Mendoza

There are only 600 bottles of the flagship 2008 Remota. It is 100% Malbec sourced from a 60- year-old estate vineyard which was allowed an extra 20 days of hang time. It was aged for 12 months in new French oak before racking into a another set of new barrels for an additional 6 months (the 150% new oak treatment). Deep purple in color with a film of glycerin coating the glass, it sports a brooding bouquet of exotic spices, incense, lavender, smoke, black cherry, and blackberry. Opulent on the palate with layers of fleshy black fruit, this concentrated effort has terrific volume and precision balance.

Good medium ruby. Ripe blackberry, licorice and violet on the nose and palate, along with an intriguing mineral component. Suave, dry and classic; in fact, youthfully tight and restrained today for all its considerable richness. Cassis and mineral flavors are supported by firm tannic structure and solid acidity. This shapely, penetrating wine is built for a leisurely evolution in bottle and probably should not be approached for at least three or four years. My score may eventually prove to be overly conservative.

Sourced from 60- year-old vines in the cooler area of Altamira in the Uco Valley, this is a very serious red, bolstered even further by the inclusion of 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Oenologist Roberto de la Mota has fashioned a modern, aromatic, beautifully refined Malbec that is built to age: tannic, dense, showing sweet cedarwood and blackberry notes that will evolve and deepen in bottle.

Argentina is realizing its greatness thanks to a bevy of old-vine vineyards now being optimized by quality-conscious growers.