Incredibly perfumed with violets, dark berries and hints of cedar. Full body and integrated tannins that melt into the wine, delivering superb balance and depth.

Ripe black-fruit aromas are potent and meaty, with complex notes of savory beef stew and black coffee. A full palate is plush and stylish, while this high-elevation Malbec tastes of blackberry, cassis and savory herbs. Black-fruit flavors remain forceful on a finish with good depth and great feel; drink through 2026.

Bright deep ruby. Spectacular aromas of dark berries, espresso, mocha, violet, musky herbs, anise, soy sauce and raw burger. Suave in grain but very backward and minerally; in fact, even tighter than the Grand Cabernet even if it shares that wine's nobility of texture. Intense flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, licorice and violet pastille are given added pungency and definition by chalky minerality. This very dense but tightly wound wine conveys a higher-acid impression than the Cabernet and thus comes across as less sweet. With its chalky energy and tannic spine, its rising, bracing finish is almost painful today. This Malbec should evolve at a snail's pace.

Winemaker Hervé Birnie-Scott blends fruit from four Uco Valley vineyards for this Reserva Malbec, which is hand-harvested and spends 12 months in French oak. From a slightly warmer year than usual, there's a savoury edge to the black fruit aromas, plus hints of violets and vanilla. Expressive and harmonious palate, with nicely judged oak and a fresh, floral edge to the concentrated black fruit. Fine, medium tannins, with notes of chamois leather, spice and mocha on the finish. Great for steak! Drinking Window 2020 - 2025

Produced with a blend of Malbec grapes from different locations within Mendoza (Las Compuertas, Paraje Altamira and Los Chacayes), the new 2017 Grand Malbec was nice and pleasant, but as I found with the Chardonnay from this range, it lacked the complexity and depth to justify the price tag. The fruit is ripe without excess, and the oak is nicely integrated, which is an improvement over the wines from the past, but there is still a way to go before we can talk about a "grand" wine. It seems to be on the right track, though.