Bodega Sur de Los Andes Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza 2017 (750ml)

 

Rated 92 Points by Wine Enthusiast

 

Blackberry aromas come with welcome notes of chocolaty oak and graphite to create a nose of plenty.  A lush, full-bodied palate brings huge flavors of blackberry and cassis that show no rough edges are are steady on the finish.

 

Rated 91 Points by James Suckling

 

An array of darker berries, mulberries and plums here.  The palate has super silky tannins and carries juicy cassis flavors with blueberries to close.  Long, fresh and fine.

 

Bodega Sur De Los Andes

 

Malbec & Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

 

Premium Blend

 

A rich, ripe array of dark berries, mulberries and plums on the nose.  The palate has silky tannins and carries juicy cassis flavors with blueberries and dark berries.  Long and fresh.  Grapes are sourced from high altitude vines from Agrelo and Los Arboles, Uco Valley.

 

Composition:  50%  Malbec & 50% Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Tasting Notes

 

Intense mineral and berry aromas show class and touches of mint and wood and flavors of plum and raspberry.

 

Vinification

 

All the grapes are double sorted upon arrival to the winery.  All fermentations take place naturally with native yeasts.  Fermentation takes 30 days with 5 days of cold maceration, at temperatures between 28-31 Celsius to achieve the most complexity.  The wine then goes through 100% Malolactic Fermentation and is aged up to a year in older oak casks.

 

 

Bodega Sur De Los Andes

 

Bodega Sur de los Andes was created by Guillermo Banfi, an Argentine professional who entered the wine industry in 2002.  He studied in Los Angeles and New York and then spent the 90’s in banking and finance working in Buenos Aires and New York acquiring both business experience and taste for fine wines.  His passion for wine collided with his business training, and, coming at the start of the worldwide boom in Argentine wines, led him to make the decision to leave banking to pursue a dream of creating a high-quality boutique winery.  In 2005, Guillermo, hired one of Argentina’s rising young stars, winemaker Pablo Durigutti, and pursued his dream by forming Sur de los Andes.  The winery produces premium wines in the Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza province with grapes from throughout the Mendoza region, in particular Agrelo and Vistalba in Luján de Cuyo and San Carlos in the Uco Valley.

 

In the shadow of the Andes Mountains, Mendoza’s wine regions and high-altitude vineyards are pushed to develop bold, unique flavors in extreme conditions found nowhere else on earth.  High altitude means cool temperatures and clear air, and clear air means more sunlight for building flavor in the grapes, helping to make Mendoza the source of Argentina’s well-earned reputation for top quality, unique wines and viticulture.  All of the grapes for Sur de los Andes are double sorted.  They only use natural yeasts during the 30-day fermentation 30 days after 5 days of cold maceration.  The wines are aged in 3rd use French oak barrels.  These wines pair great with Beef skillet, steak burrito, ribs and lamb.

 

Mendoza is by far the largest wine region in Argentina.  Located on a high-altitude plateau at the edge of the Andes Mountains, the province is responsible for roughly 70 percent of the country's annual wine production.  The French grape variety Malbec has its New World home in the vineyards of Mendoza, producing red wines of great concentration and intensity.

 

Altitude is one of the most important characteristics of the Mendoza terroir.  The strip of vineyard land that runs along the base of the Andes lies between 800 and 1200 meters (2600 and 3900ft) above sea level, and it is this altitude that moderates the hot, dry climate of the region.  Warm, sunny days are followed by nights made much colder by westerly winds from the Andes.  This cooling-off period slows ripening, extending the growing season and contributing rich, ripe flavors to the grapes that do not come at the expense of acidity.

 

Irrigation is facilitated by the rivers that cross the region, including the Mendoza itself, which runs down from the mountains.  Warm, dry harvest periods mean that winemakers are able to pick their grapes according to ripeness, rather than being ruled by the vagaries of the weather.  As with other New World countries, this leads to a reduction in vintage variation, as well as consistent quality from year to year.  Predictable harvests also afford Mendoza's winemakers the luxury of increased control over the styles of wine they produce a factor which has contributed to the region's international reputation.

 

 

Rated 92 Points by Wine Enthusiast

 

Blackberry aromas come with welcome notes of chocolaty oak and graphite to create a nose of plenty.  A lush, full-bodied palate brings huge flavors of blackberry and cassis that show no rough edges are are steady on the finish.