Vinyes Ocults, Malbec, 2022, Mendoza, Argentina

About the wine

Bold, unapologetic, and dangerously easy to drink—good luck stopping at one glass. Massive diurnal swings here in the high desert allow the grapes to reach huge phenolic ripeness basking in the daytime sunshine, while chilly nights preserve their fresh, natural acids. Black and burly, Malbec is perfectly suited to this arid climate, which turns severity in the vineyard into svelte concentration in the glass. 

Tasting notes

Aromas of fresh plum, cherry, violets, and country herbs, with a touch of spice from aging. The palate is fruit-forward with gentle, rounded tannins, lifted by juicy freshness.

Quality sets these wines apart, but also a winemaking philosophy that borders on mysticism, signaled by the image of a grinning skull that leers from his wine labels. He sees wine as a living thing animated by the vineyard spirits that gave it life: the Andean glacial melt that refreshes the vines, the years of winegrowing knowledge that shaped the vineyard, and the people who tirelessly worked the land. This sensitivity to the environment and the grape informs his golden touch, which brings an elegance and balance seldom seen in bargain-priced wines.