There are a few angles here, not the least of which is the fact that we aren’t typically fans of this particular Argentine source.  We have tasted several vintages of the various incarnations from and find all too often they are a bit edgy and angular.  Not so here.  This Mendoza blend of 60% Malbec, 20% Syrah, and 20% Bonarda has the typical tender edges and well integrated flavors that remind us of some of our  favorites out of Argentina.  Maybe it is a function of the blend which they all ‘cocina’ referring to the fact that this is a ‘kitchen sink blend.’ This is visually striking for its modest price range with a dark, saturated color.  The nose shows lots of black and dark red fruit with floral, herb, and mocha notes.  The entry is surprisingly generous and round with plenty of sweet fruit suggesting mulberry, plum, and coffee.  In simple terms, it’s a lot of wine for $10 which is why it landed on the front page in the first place.  So who is La Posta? Well, it is a joint venture between the importers here that pioneered all of the smaller Catena family bottlings in this country like Tikal and Luca, and one Laura Catena.  The winemaker is a fellow named Luis Regenato who also happens to be the vineyard manager for the Catena and Luca (Laura Catena’s own wines) as well as the winemaker for Luca.  Some of the La Posta wines are made at the Luca facility, including this one.  It’s all pretty incestuous, but when it brings about stuff like this for this kind of price, who cares? We are all for it.  Excellent value. Stock Report 11/12