Wine: 2006 Cheval des Andes
Region: Argentina
Sokolin Price: $69.99/btl
Rating: 96 RP
This auspicious evening we tried a wine that was...well... a "Pedigree Argentine from a Bordeaux Stable" (www.chevaldesandes.com) Sounds ridiculously cool right? It definitely was and here are the details.
It's a well known fact that we recommend and sell wines from every stand-out wine producing region. In doing so, it's not surprising that we have developed quite a passion for some New World wines. Argentina, a major wine producer of South America (and also considered to be of the New World), is one of them. It has achieved such success with the Malbec grape varietal that when thinking of Argentina, Malbec naturally comes to mind.
We recently tasted a bottle of 2006 Cheval des Andes from the Mendoza region of Argentina. You can really taste and experience a piece of history with this wine, which is part of its uniqueness. It just so happens to be an alliance between the famed Bordeaux estate, Cheval Blanc, which has been producing wine for over 100 years and is known to be one of the greatest wine estates in the world, and Terrazas de los Andes, one of Argentina's premier single vineyard wine estates. Now, that just sounds interesting. After tasting and reviewing this wine, the 2006 Cheval des Andes is a very successful collaboration between the two. The RP points - all 96 of them - speak volumes for the wine.
The 2006 Cheval des Andes is very fruit-forward and explodes with layers and layers of dark fruit, especially blackberry, boysenberry and black cherry. These flavors, no doubt, come from the main grapes this wine is made of: Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. If you like a wine with some muscle behind it, then this is your wine. It has all the great components of a stellar wine including depth, complexity, balance, a delicious taste and finally, a long-lasting finish. While it still has youth on its side, it showed well, evolved as the night went on and will only get better with time.
Our recommendation: If you're looking for an awesome Malbec, look no further. The 2006 Cheval des Andes is a top pick of ours that we think will leave you asking for more. Drink now and cellar some for the years to come.