Lot 831 2020 Mendoza Malbec
Introducing a Mendoza Malbec from Cameron Hughes Wines.
Argentina is home to some of the highest elevation vineyards on the planet, and it’s known that great wine was never made from easily grown grapes; the combination of being physically closer to the sun, benefitting from extreme drainage, and being planted to rough, relatively infertile soils makes for incredibly concentrated, deeply colored, flavorful grapes. Today’s release is a showcase of great wine having begun on these vines, then ushered into bottle by an incredibly talented winemaker at an unbeatable price for the quality.
Lot 831 comes to us from a certified organic and sustainable winery bolstered by a winemaker with global stints in California, Bordeaux, and South America. All estate-grown fruit is hand selected at optimal ripeness from vineyards beginning around 6,200 ft. and climbing up from there. After fermentation the wine is moved into second-pass French oak for a bit of aging before bottling. The result is an organic, concentrated Malbec that could easily pass muster with any Cab-loving aficionado with a steak in their future.
Beautifully dark in the glass, the nose is an elegant composite of black cherries and red plum backed by clay pot and chocolate. The entry explodes with red plum, black raisin, tobacco, and baking spices over medium acidity alongside plentiful, perfectly integrated small tannins. The finish is long, dry, and terroir-driven with further clay pot and tobacco transitioning to barrel-kissed vanilla and spice on the exit. If you’re looking for a “steak Malbec” that also acts as a cellar defender, look no further.
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting of this wonderful Mendoza Malbec.