This Mendoza Malbec is 99% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc, sourced from vineyards planted over 50 years ago, and aged for 10 months in French oak. Produced by Bodegas Renacer, Alberto Antonini and Pablo Profili, winemakers.
The wine has a deep, purple core with little fade to the rim. The bouquet offers solid aromas of blueberries, dark figs, plums, and hoisin sauce, accented by violets, minerals, and toasty oak notes. The wine is plush and soft on the palate, with mild tannins and modest acidity - a very Merlot-like mouthfeel. Black cherry, blueberry, and plum fruit come to the fore in the mouth, with tobacco and mocha flavors revealing themselves and joining with the floral, mineral, and spice notes to add complexity. Creamy, toasty oak and more pronounced tanninc grip come through, adding structure to a solid, fruit-stained finish.
Sourcing from several Mendoza sub-appellations including Lujan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, Renacer has achieved great consistency with this blend, rivalling the blockbuster 2005 in terms of the quality-to-price ratio. For $15, this is is one of the premier Argentinian Malbecs in the market. Combine the softness and accessibility of a 'New World' Merlot with the complexity and structure of Bordeaux, and add a dash of the high-altitude Argentinian mineral imprint, and you have a winning combination. It is sometimes a wonder to consider all of the overhead that goes into producing a wine of this quality, aging it in French oak, and getting it to the shelf at an American retailer - to do so for $15/bottle is a pretty good deal. Another steak wine here - grilled skirt steak with a smoky chimmichurri sauce sounds perfect to me.
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