Mendoza Wines

wines

The 2017 Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Single Vineyard didn’t show any heat or excess ripeness from a warm and dry year. On the contrary, it’s austere and has citrus acidity, with great freshness and minerality. The palate is super austere with vibrant acidity—by far the highest among the Gran Enemigo bottlings—and very fine, chalky tannins. This is remarkable, serious, balanced and fresh with a very, very long and salty finish. This fermented in barrels with 100% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in centenary oak foudres for 15 months. 3,000 bottles were filled in July 2018.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPPretty aromas of plum, blueberry, rose hip, lavender, sandalwood and oyster shell. It’s medium-to full-bodied with silky, seamless tannins. So pure and elegant with gorgeous layers of cool blue fruit. Saline and coffee notes, too. Long and evolving. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2017 Cabernet Franc Gran Enemigo Single Vineyard Gualtallary has a 15% dash of Malbec from Gualtallary, Uco Valley and was 30% fermented in whole bunches before aging for 15 months in barrels and foudres. A rich, dense purple thanks to the altitude, the complex, ripe nose presents notes of sour cherry and blackcurrant along with country herbs, jalapeño and ash. Juicy and intense with a compact flow, the core resounds with freshness underneath finely grained tannins and an energy that keeps the wine going. The very definition of power and flavor in which the varietal has been shaped by the terroir.Vinous Media | 95 VM

One of the finest and more regular wines from Argentina, the 2018 Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Single Vineyard is austere and shows restraint, with great freshness and gobsmacking balance and complexity, but in the context of the 2019 and 2020 vintages that I also tasted next to it, it comes thorough as slightly less refined but still with 13.5% alcohol and with very good parameters of acidity and freshness. It has a medium-bodied palate and a rare combination of power and elegance, with very fine, chalky tannins. It’s very long and has a salty and tasty finish. It matured in centenary oak foudres for 15 months. 9,000 bottles were filled in July 2019.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2018 Cabernet Franc Gran Enemigo Single Vineyard Gualtallary also contains 15% Malbec, both from Gualtallary, Uco Valley, and spent 18 months in barrels. Purple in the glass. The vivid nose offers herbs, mint, red fruit, hints of plum and blackberry, lavender and touches of bell pepper and bay leaf rounded off by spicy aromas. In the mouth it’s broad with a layer of freshness and chalky tannins. Compact with a firm, juicy structure, it delivers good complexity and tension before the languorous, fruity finish.Vinous Media | 97 VMAromas of violets, almond blossoms, wild blackberries, blueberries, ash, tea leaves and nutmeg. It’s medium-bodied with vibrant acidity and finely knit tannins. Mineral, tea-like edge, supporting a fresh core of blue fruit. Refined and subtle, yet comforting. Try from 2023.James Suckling | 96 JSWell-structured, with nice elegance and tension, offering dusty floral and spice notes against a core of fleshy red plum and strawberry flavors that swell midpalate around fresh, mineral acidity. Shows notes of spiced chocolate on the finish. Drink now through 2032. 500 cases made, 300 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSAromas of red plum and dried herbs blend with small doses of vanilla. Made with grapes sourced from Gualtallary, it’s full bodied and energetic, with a herbaceous character demanding attention on the vibrant palate. Plum, blackberry and green bell pepper join oak spice. It finishes with notes of tobacco. Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

Perfumed and very inviting on the nose, with gorgeous, expressive fresh red berry aromatics, and then on to a velvety palate laced with lush black fruit, graceful yet focused tannins and a beautiful, clean mineral texture. Alc 14.5%Decanter | 97 DECAromas of cooked cherries, ripe plums, blueberries, violets and sweet spices. Medium- to full-bodied with fine, creamy tannins. Ample and soft with dark-cherry character on the center-palate and a fruity finish. Drink now.James Suckling | 91 JS