 | A top-notch value Cabernet with no flaws. The fruit on the nose is pretty and stylish but doesn't force the issue, while the palate is juicy and fresh with flavors of cola, cassis and wild Berry. Not a complicated wine, but one that pushes all the right buttons. Ripe and friendly to the last drop. A lot of wine for the money.
Wine Enthusiast Rating: 90
[Issue: 09/01/09]
$11.00 |
|
 | Quite ripe and toasty, with a hefty dose of mocha and coffee laid over the fleshy dark plum, currant and blackberry fruit. Stays toasty through the finish, but this is well-integrated, with the fruit an equal match. Drink now through 2010. 5,800 cases made.
Wine Spectator Rating: 90
[Issue: Oct 31/09]
$13.00 |
|
 | Dense purple-colored with notes of blackberry, earth, roasted meats, and a hint of barbecue spice, this wine exhibits great fruit, delicious, full-bodied texture, silky tannins, and a long finish. It does taste more like a $30-50 bottle of Malbec than one that can be purchased for $15. It should drink nicely for at least 2-3 years.
Wine Advocate Rating: 91
[Issue: Online Jan 15/10]
$14.00 |
|
 | From La Consulta, in the heights of the Uco Valley, this wine's red fruit has a nervous energy. The flavors are firm and fresh with a flavorful depth, all subtly complemented by lingering notes of black pepper.
Wine & Spirits Rating: 91
[Issue: Web Only]
$16.00 |
|
 | Ripe and flashy, with a showy layer of mocha leading the way for spice cake, raspberry and boysenberry fruit flavors laid over a lush, creamy finish. Dense but lithe, with the fruit echoing through the finish.
Wine Spectator Rating: 91
[Issue: Nov 15/08]
$17.00 |
|
 | Very grippy, with lots of espresso- and cocoa powder-dusted grip driving the lush blueberry and plum fruit, fig sauce and linzer torte flavors. Dense but driven, with the grip moving authoritatively through the muscular finish. Needs to stretch out in the cellar. From winemaker Álvaro Espinoza and the owners of Chile's Veramonte winery. Best from 2011 through 2014. 980 cases made.
Wine Spectator Rating: 91
[Issue: Feb 28/09]
$17.00 |
|
 | The 2008 Malbec, which contains 10% Bonarda, spent 11 months in 50% new French oak and 50% first use American oak. Purple-colored, it reveals an expressive nose of wood smoke, cinnamon, incense, and black cherry. Round, ripe, medium-bodied, and savory, this layered effort has a lengthy, fruit-filled finish. Enjoy it over the next 5 years.
Wine Advocate Rating: 90]
[Issue: #184 / Aug 09]
$18.00 |
|
 | The 2007 Patriota is a blend of 60% Bonarda and 40% Malbec aged in 70% French oak (40% new) and 30% second use American oak. Purple-colored, it offers an alluring bouquet of spice box, black cherry, and blueberry. Supple and flavorful on the palate, additional notes of raspberry and chocolate emerge, accompanied by a complex, rich wine with good structure and length. It way over-delivers for its modest price. Tikal is the project of Ernesto Catena, son of Nicolas Catena, founder of Catena-Zapata, and brother of Laura Catena of Luca.
Wine Advocate Rating: 92
[Issue: #180 / Dec 08]
$25.00 |
|
 | The 2008 Malbec spent 12 months in 60% new French oak. It is a glass-staining opaque purple color with an enthralling perfume of sandalwood, Asian spices, lavender, black cherry, and plum. On the palate this concentrated effort admirably combines power and elegance. Smooth-textured, spicy, and rich, it will evolve for 2-3 years and offer prime drinking from 2011 to 2023.
Wine Advocate Rating: 92
[Issue: #184 / Aug 09]
Regular price: $35.00 Sale price: $29.00 |
|
 | The fruit for the 2008 Pinot Noir was sourced from a 15-acre parcel from the Adriana Vineyard made famous by Catena Zapata and aged in 30% new French oak. It displays lovely aromatics of raspberry and cherry, plenty of body, sweet, succulent flavors, a silky texture, and outstanding depth. It should drink well for another 8 years.
Wine Advocate Rating: 92
[Issue: #184 / Aug 09]
$29.00 |
|
 | The 2007 Amorio is 100% Malbec sourced from vines with an average age of 41 years. It was aged for 12 months in 60% new French oak and bottled without fining or filtration. Purple-colored, it reveals an attractive perfume of pain grille, mineral, black cherry, and violets. Medium to full-bodied, it is silky-textured with a surprisingly elegant personality for its size. Layered, sweetly-fruited, and intense, the wine has solid aging potential and should provide prime drinking from 2010 to 2018.
Wine Advocate Rating: 92
[Issue: #180 / Dec 08]
$32.00 |
|
 | The Bramare “Marchiori Vineyard” wines are from 100% estate grown fruit located in Lujan de Cuyo. The 2006 Bramare Malbec “Marchiori Vineyard”, tasted from a barrel sample (the wine should be bottled by the time subscribers are reading this note), is even better than the 2005. Vintage conditions were ideal and, for the first time, Hobbs stopped irrigation 12 weeks before harvest, most unusual in Mendoza’s arid conditions. There was better natural acidity with little acidulation required. The wine offers more flavor complexity, vibrancy, and aromatic lift, and sensational length.
Wine Advocate Rating: (96-99)
[Issue: #174 / Dec 07]
$77.00 |
|
 | According to Hobbs, 2006 was one of the great vintages of his 20 year career in Argentina. The near perfect 2006 Cobos Malbec Marchiori Vineyard is my favorite of this remarkable collection. A glass-coating, saturated opaque purple/black in color, the wine offers up a sexy/kinky bouquet of pain grille, Asian spices, pencil lead, mineral, lavender, blueberry, and black cherry. On the palate there is layer upon layer of savory fruit, spice notes, espresso, and chocolate as well as exquisite balance. The wine’s finish lasts for more than a minute. Try a bottle, bury the rest in your cellar for ten years, and then drink them from 2018 to 2040.
Wine Advocate Rating: 99
[Issue: #180 / Dec 08]
$155.00 |
|
