ABOUT We’ve learned a lot about Mendoza, Malbec and winemaking in general since we started making this wine in 2009. The time was right to press the reset button on this program with the 2017 vintage and incorporate all that we’ve learned. This required a different mix of vineyards, many of which are higher elevation, and a slower approach at the winery to bring more spice, structure and purity of fruit to the wine. The result is distinctive and righteous, and we felt required a new label to match the new expression. This jaw dropping photo was taken from one of our Uco Valley vineyards and shows the majesty of Mendoza. For us, there is no greater inspiration than nature itself: Joel Gott, Charles Bieler and Roger Scommegna—a trio of adventure seekers and wine crafters—looking to some of the world’s most dramatic backdrops to create the multi-dimensional wines of The Show.
WINEMAKING One-half of the Malbec sourced from Uco Valley was fermented on its own, a portion of that natively and all with extended time on the skins. The other half was co-fermented with Cabernet Sauvignon from Lujan de Cuyo. Cabernet ripens later than Malbec so to get the two to ripen at the same time to co-ferment required cold site Malbec and warm site Cabernet and the results were awesome. The rest of the fruit is all from Lujan, Agrelo and Eastern Mendoza. In each case we left the wine on its skins for a week or more after each went dry to extract more. The press fractions of the wine were so interesting texturally that we kept them all in. Onethird of the wine went in to new French oak. The rest of it stayed in concrete where it was also fermented.
TASTING NOTES A deep red, nearly purple color, with aromatics of concentrated black fruits, cigar box and notes of barrel toast. Dark fruit, spice and rich flavors continue on the palate. Quite brooding, but pure and focused. The tannins are super integrated and soft, but with terrific balance and finish that gives it unusual length in the palate.
VINEYARDS Our goal was to bring more structure and black fruit to the wine. To do that we sourced more fruit from the Uco Valley, a higher elevation area that makes for cooler nights, slower ripening, and greater structure. The Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the more northerly Lujan de Cuyo, farther from the Andes Mountains and at a lower altitude. We also sourced Malbec from Lujan, Agrelo, and Eastern Mendoza.