Search results for: 'El Enemigo Chardonnay Mendoza 2016'

97 Points! A hint of flint and gunpowder with waxed lemon, oyster shell, mango and salted green apples. Quite a textured, saline expression of chardonnay with tangy flavors and a mineral drive. Full-bodied and reductive with phenolic support. Savory, saline and mouthwatering finish. Love the austerity here. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! The 2021 Chardonnay was phenomenal, way above the expectations for the price point. It was produced with pristine grapes from Gualtallary that in the cool 2021 vintage achieved 13.5% alcohol but kept a low pH of 3.05 and 7.7 grams of acidity. It matured in oak barrels that were not topped up and let to develop a veil of flor yeast. The barrels were 500-liter ones, and despite 35% of them being new, the wine doesn't feel marked by the wood. It has the chalky texture of the limestone soils. Superb! This is a bargain that is approachable now, but it should also develop nicely in bottle. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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93 Points! Against all odds, the 2020 Cabernet Franc, from a warm and dry year, feels fresher and more harmonious than the two other vintages I tasted next to it, the cooler 2019 and 2021. It contains some 10% Malbec that fermented together with the Cabernet Franc, which feels very integrated and softened the tannins that feel velvety but without losing grip. It spent 15 months in ancient oak foudres, and the oak feels very integrated. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

97 Points! Crushed raspberry plum in colour, vibrant and concentrated, juicy and balanced, has precision and succulence and carefully thought out delivery of tannins, grilled spices, nutmeg, liqourice, bilberry, damson and pomegrante. Great stuff, playing at a high level. - Jane Anson

97 Points! Ripe, baked dark cherries with spices and some violets. Hints of graphite, cocoa powder, incense and black pepper. Dried rose petals. A slightly fuller Cheval des Andes with tense, silky tannins and a lingering, generous finish. Ripe, but still has lots of restraint and precision. 49% malbec, 49% cabernet sauvignon with a 2% petit verdot. 24% of the malbec comes from Altamira and all the rest of the fruit come from Las Compuertas. Drink or hold. - James Suckling

96 Points! The 2020 Cheval des Andes is a blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot from Paraje Altamira in the Uco Valley and Las Compuertas in Luján de Cuyo. Aged in French oak barrels, it's purple in the glass with a garnet sheen. The nose reveals a well-judged approach to the warmth of 2020, featuring ripe plum, redcurrant, mint and hints of white pepper over a bed of bay leaf and cedar. It's dry and velvety on the palate, with rich, polished tannins that deliver a juicy, balanced mouthfeel. The balsamic notes and rich palate reflect the year's character, while the finish is dynamic and long-lasting. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media

95 Points! This almost half-half Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec with 2% Petit Verdot is rich and full in the mouth. Tannins are massy and filling, this has power and dominance with concentrated blackcurrant, plum and black cherry fruit. Highly spiced and sunkissed, this is intense and quite a force on the palate with liquorice, black pepper and tobacco tones and a flinty mineral aspect on the finish. The alcohol sticks out a touch, just lingering with heat at the end, but it has freshness and matches the altogether hefty frame and power from start to finish. Certainly a punchy and confident wine that's out to shine. 3.83pH. Ageing 22 months, 40% in 225l Bordeaux barrels, 405 in 400l barrels, 20% in 2,500l foudres (50% new). - Georgina Hindle, Decanter

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93 Points! The entry-level white is the 2019 Blanco de la Casa, a blend of 40% Sauvignon Blanc from Gualtallary, 40% Sémillon from La Consulta and 20% Chardonnay from La Carrera, which gives the wine a touch of energy. It comes from a dry and cool vintage that resulted in limited alcohol and good acidity. He wanted to avoid the varietal character and have a blend this year that is really vibrant, with pungent acidity and minerality. All wines fermented with natural yeasts and no acidification. He looks for high-altitude vineyards for the whites. It's sharp and really tasty, bottled unoaked, so it comes through as complex, integrated and textured. It should develop nicely in bottle. 4,000 bottles produced. It was bottled unfiltered in September 2019, and it's a little cloudy, a constant with the whites from the vintage. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com Learn More

94 Points! Sweet tobacco, currants and white pepper here, with a red-chili note. Medium-to full-bodied with seamless, ripe tannins on the palate. Flavorful, yet elegant. Extremely well made. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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93 Points! There's better integration of the oak and better balance, harmony and elegance in the 2021 Privada Family Blend. It was produced with 40% Malbec and 30% each Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from vineyards in Luján de Cuyo. It feels very integrated, with each variety adding aromas and flavors and coming through as complex and powerful. This has to be one of the finest vintages for this bottling. Maybe they used less new barrels... - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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97 Points! The 2019 Malbec Catena Zapata Nicasia Vineyard comes from a vineyard planted in Altamira in 1996 at 1,095 meters above sea level with an old massale selection. It has contained ripeness and 13.7% alcohol from a cooler year in a warmer place. It's a classical Malbec, balanced and elegant but also powerful with fine tannins. It finishes with violets and spice. It's a Malbec with spicy oak. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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98 Points! This has a complex nose of baked blackberries, grilled plums, dried earth, moss, pine cones, sandalwood, charcoal and cloves. It’s medium-bodied with firm, tightly knit tannins. Wow. So much going on. Layered, seamless and silky. Incredible length. Keeps going. 42% cabernet sauvignon, 30% malbec and 28% cabernet franc. Try this from 2024. - JamesSuckling.com

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90 Points! Attractive nose of plums, fresh blueberries, thyme and orange zest. Fruity and crunchy with a medium to full body, easy tannins and fresh finish. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

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92 Points! The 2009 Cask Selection is a red blend that represents Weinert's philosophy of mixing their three red varieties and wines that have aged between five and 10 years in large oak casks. It's approximately 40% each Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, and it's quite ripe at 14.8% alcohol. In this case, the wines matured in five of their oak casks of 2,000 to 2,500 liters for 10 years. It has a nose of incense, very ripe plums and noble woods, very spicy and smoky. But I felt the ripeness here more than in the 2010 Cabernet. It has a full-bodied palate with round, polished tannins and a long finish. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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94 Points! A deep and naked malbec without added sulphites. Stones, white pepper, stems and wild herbs to the dark cherry fruit on the nose. Full-bodied on the palate with dense, chalky tannins and a pristine, juicy finish. All about the fruit here. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

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94 Points! This is fresh and aromatic on the nose, with notes of cassis and blackberries, as well as hints of cumin, cedar wood and crushed stones. Medium-bodied, packed with polished tannins. Shows bright acidity and generous fruit. Flavorful and long with some walnut iat the end. Try now, but better after 2023. - JamesSuckling.com

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92 Points! Aromas of currants, sweet tobacco and oyster shell follow through to a medium to full body with firm, creamy tannins and a steely finish. Drink after 2021. - JamesSuckling.com

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94 Points! The 2019 Malbec Estate Selection from Uco Valley offers precise and attractive notes of fresh, sour cherry, plum and hints of lavender, violet and thyme. On the palate, it is a mix of flavors framed by fine, reactive tannins. Finishes juicy, with well-integrated freshness and fruity flavors - Joaquín Hidalgo, Vinous Media

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97 Points! There is a new superb pure Giró from old vines, from the upper two terraces of the Abargues property, first produced in the perfect Mediterranean vintage of 2020. The 2020 Fierroca takes the name from two words, "fierro"( which means iron) and "roca" (which means rock"), the components of the soils here. The grapes have less color but lots of grip, and the wine is floral, elegant, terribly balanced, tasty and ripe without excess, with a velvety texture and long, pure fresh and fine flavors. This is amazing! It matured in two 500-liter French oak barrels for 10 months. 1,300 bottles were filled in August 2021. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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95+ Points! The depth of the nose of the 2020 El Veneno already talks about a much better vintage with very complete and full wines that are floral, expressive and ripe but delicate, what they always look for: delicate wines with power, the proverbial iron fist in the velvet glove. It's varietal, Mediterranean, fresh, expressive, rich and complex, with abundant, chalky tannins that coat your mouth and give it a dry sensation, earthy and mineral. It has more of everything. The finest vintage of El Veneno to date. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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