2014 Vina Cobos Malbec Chanares Estate

Even more ambitious than the Marchiori is the new 2014 Cobos Malbec Chañares Vineyard, sourced from a much younger vineyard (less than ten years old) they bought in the Los Árboles zone of Tunuyán in the Valle de Uco. Chañares is their new flagship vineyard and it's planted on well-drained layered alluvial soil of sandy loam texture with a deep layer of round rocks. They bought eight hectares and continued planting some more vines there, and they will complete some 18 hectares in the future, including some Cabernet Franc. This vineyard will turn into Cobo's new flagship vineyard, organically-farmed as they don't use any herbicides and they keep the natural vegetation in between the rows. It's also surrounded by "chañar" tree forests, hence the name. It also got the 100% new French oak treatment until bottling unfined and unfiltered some 19 months after the grapes were harvested. It has a beautiful perfumed nose, with tons of wild flowers and herbs, the aroma of the Mendoza countryside with some violets thrown in and some subtle wild berries, with amazing freshness for a vintage like 2014. I'm drying to try this wine in cooler vintages like 2015 and 2016, because this debut is really impressive. There are no edges or any hard tannins, there is no excess, there is beautiful balance and harmony. This ranks among my favorite wines I've ever had from Viña Cobos. 3,000 bottles produced.