2011 Recuerdo Wines Malbec Aliado

The 2011 Recuerdo Aliado is pure Malbec from Los Sauces, Tunuyan, Uco Valley, aged in mostly used French oak. The nose shows great depth and purity, revealing elegant, subtle aromas of raspberries, licorice and violets. The palate shows equally pure and elegant flavors, with very good acidity, persistence and length. The oak is perfectly integrated into the wine. This is ready to enjoy now but should age with grace. A superb Malbec. Drink 2014-2019. The Vines of Mendoza is a wine real estate project which owns close to 300 hectares of vineyards in Vista Flores in the Uco Valley. Private customers own vineyards and can decide which varieties are planted, how to produce the wine and in which quantities. They can even build a house or a winery on their property or use the common facilities. Santiago Achaval has worked as consultant since the project started in 2006. They planted and follow Achaval’s advice to produce the very best wine possible, no expenses spared. The owners are interested in a small quantity of wine for themselves, so there is a surplus of grapes used to produce these wines. This is a great spot for viticulture and even the young vines surprised them with the quality obtained. The wines are phenomenal. I also had the chance to taste some of the wines from the individual owners, who have decided the grapes they want in their plots and what kind of wine they want: elegant, intense, fruity or structured. A fun exercise and a great luxury to have your own wine produced to your specifications. They produce 360 wines... crazy work! Young and enthusiastic Pablo Martorell, from Tunuyan, a few kilometers away from the winery, is the resident winemaker in charge of the wines. I tasted the wines on a couple of occasions in Madrid and also visited the vineyards and their impressive restaurant on a great Sunday afternoon in the Uco Valley. Importer: Bespoke Collection, Yountville, CA; tel. (707) 252-4444; www.bespokecollection.com