2011 Cheval des Andes

71% Malbec, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot. They worked on protecting the wine from oxygen with great care to keep barrels absolutely full. A fresher year but a very high alcohol level! Blackish crimson. Much finer nose. Racy and lively with just a hint of the char on the finish. Just a tiny bit porty on the end but you would never guess at the alcohol level. (JR)

The 2011 Cheval des Andes is at the same time riper but also has higher acidity than 2010 and is a slightly more powerful version of 2010. The palate has very good volume while keeping the freshness. They also reduced the toast from the barrels and improved the quality of the barrels they use (45% new oak was used in 2011). The final blend of 2011 was 71% Malbec, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot. There is red and black fruit plus minty notes on the nose. The palate has density, acidity and good fruit sweetness (but not sweet). The acidity is very precise, the tannins are ripe and sweet, it seems to have the ingredients for a long and nice aging in the bottle. It had the best palate of the trio of vintages I tasted together, 2010, 2011 and 2012. 2011 was a short vintage, so there are no rules. They selected the grapes and whatever volume they produce that's what it is. In this vintage, they finally bottled 45,000 bottles. It's not easy to decide between 2010 and 2011, as both are great vintages.