$39.99 on 6+ bottles

97TA / 96+WA / 95D

97 pts Tim Atkin, MW
"Organically farmed on the Jardín Altamira estate, a terroir that is delivering remarkable quality at only seven years of age, this is a wonderfully scented second release, showing impressive purity, focus and palate length. Chalky and savoury, with raspberry, blueberry and pomegranate flavours, filigree tannins and a long, stony finish. 2024-2032. (Feb 2023)"

96+ pts Wine Advocate
"[$50 list] From silty soils at the estate Jardín Altamira site, the 2021 Malbec Appellation Altamira is another benchmark example of Altamira's distinctiveness. A broad, expansive and expressive bouquet of crystal-clear purple flower aromas bounds from the glass, supported by a rich yet measured bed of black and purple fruits. The palate is both wide and broad, with a laser-focused, tensile core, releasing into a finish that is equally high and refreshing yet deep and grounded. This is all about flowers and textural breadth, sitting lower in the mouth with a pronounced horizontal richness, juxtaposing the equally fantastic Appellation Gualtallary bottling, which exudes a more vertical, stony profile with a distinctly herbal bouquet. Even while attempting to correct for vintage variation, I find the Altamira wine a touch more complete and three-dimensional, but it really is splitting a hair. Drink: 2025-2036. (May 2025)" - Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate

95 pts Descorchados (Patricio Tapia)
"A clear expression of a cool season that produced wines with tremendous fruit clarity as well as an HD photo of Altamira, this comes from a vineyard that Altos Las Hormigas planted in 2017 and that's now one of its primary sources of grapes. 65% was aged in concrete, and the rest in oak, which is a new approach, because up until the last vintage, 100% was aged in 3,500-liter barrels. With the aim of preserving the season's fresh fruit and preventing oxidation, today there's no oak aging, and the result is a malbec that's closely tied to its origins, to the stony and calcareous soils of that part of Uco that gives firm, sharp textures and angular tannins. Vibrant red fruits are accompanied by floral and herbal notes. A wine that is more of a local red than a malbec. (Jan 2024)"

Our Tasting Note
Deep ruby red with vibrant red edges. The pronounced and perfumed nose is layered and complex, offering aromas of red and blue fruits: red raspberry leads with cherry, blueberry, and cassis alongside notes of crushed stones, violet florals, notes of orange peel and white pepper spice add further complexity. The palate is med+ bodied with refined, supple tannins that are med/med+. Fresh and energizing med/med+ acidity - no doubt from the limestone soils provide a vibrant, electric mouthfeel. The flavor intensity, textures, and structure give this wine tension and depth, shaping a Malbec of remarkable style that clearly sets itself apart from the pack in this region. The finish is long, elegant, and persistent, leaving perfumed trail as it eventually tapers off.

This 100% organic Malbec grapes comes from two special plots of their Jardin de Hormigas vineyard, located in Paraje Altamira (Uco Valley), at 1,200 meters above sea level. One of them has soils with 0.8 m. of silt with dissolved limestone, and then granite with carbonate layers. The other has 10 cm of silt and clay, and then is mostly gravel with associated calcium carbonate. This vineyard, managed with a regenerative agriculture concept, has limestone-covered pebbles and gravels that occupy 85% of the soil volume, giving the wine its elegance and minerality.

Grape Variety: Malbec
Abv: 13.5%
Total Acidity: 5.6 g/l - PH: 3.6

Winemaking
Grapes are hand picked and separated by sections of the vineyard.
Destemmed grapes go through a double selection process to pick only the best.
Grapes are released by gravity into small concrete containers, with no epoxy lining.
Alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts at 26°C for 25 days.
Minimal extraction, semi-reductive fermentation. Careful, gentle handling, no pump overs; the cap is rotated by manual pigeage three times a day.
Aged for 15 months, 50% in 3,500 liter untoasted Foudres and 50% in concrete containers. Aging in the bottle for a minimum of 12 months.

We now finally have a Malbec to stock in the shop that we love! When a winery's slogan is "More fruit, less oak" from a place that seems to be dominantly be the opposite, it defintely gets my attention!  It also is not often you see a new world wine here in our emails, and even less so if it's a Malbec from Argentina.  BUT, when we taste something special like this we get really excited that a winery is taking things in an exciting direction that gets us to sit up and take notice of the great wine in our glass and ask a LOT of questions, like, how much of this do you have?!

We tasted today's wine last week and we all agreed this was the best Malbec we have all had in who knows how long! This was unlike ANYTHING I have ever had from Argentina: fresh, pure, mostly layered fruit, spices, and mineral complexity, with pretty florals and the absence of any oak flavors as it is not raised in barrels that give oak flavors.  The wines are aged in large neutral, untoasted 3500L oak foudres and concrete tanks.

Also, wines from this region that hit at this level with scores like this are $100-$150-$200+ from Catena and Cobos, two great brands that follow more of a Bordeaux/Napa model for style, aka lots of new oak.  This wine was revelatory, but I don't think it's a "game changer" for the region - the typical style will still dominate!  However, it is good to know that with this brand from their $15 Classico up to their top wines like this one this one, they are wines we proudly carry and recommend!

The team behind it includes Pedro Parra, Dr. Terroir himself, and one of Italy's top oenologists Alberto Antonini!

If scores are your thing, this also has wide recognition by the critics, see below 96+WA / 97TA!