TERRAZAS | Terrazas de los Andes | Malbec | 2016
malbec
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Today we are going to review a single varietal malbec wine from the famous Mendoza region of Argentina – Malbec 2016 by Terrazas de los Andes. Famous for its plump, dark fruit flavors and smoky finish, malbec wines have been adored for centuries for their elegance and finesse. Malbec typically produces wines that are deep in color, with full-body and high tannins – wines that usually responds well to oak ageing and are a great alternative to the higher priced cabernet sauvignon or merlot wines. The grape itself originates in the famous Cahors region of southern France, however Argentina proved that there’s more to malbec variety than just value, as today, malbec is Argentina’s signature grape and the best examples from Mendoza region can offer unmatched complexity and elegance. This particular wine is part of the Reserva line and is aged for 12 months in used french oak barrels. But enough theory – on to the wine tasting phase!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:
Visual
Pale but noble ruby color with deep, pomegranate shades towards the rim of the glass.
Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with black fruits and savory-herbaceous flavours: black soil, overripe sour cherry, blackcurrant, clay, ripe redcurrant, leather, black plum, ripe blue plum, blackberry, dried cranberry, dried plum, dried black cherry and delicate hints of dried meat. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of roasted oakwood, red pepper, nutmeg, cloves, smoked plum, tobacco and some subtle hints of violets.
Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and green tannins. It feels seedy, meaty and savory, with a green-tannic grip on the mouthfeel and a tart, a bit austere finale. This is a quite angular, green and youthful malbec wine, that tastes a bit rough and quite seedy, with overwhelming acidity and a touch of alcoholic warmth on the palate. Overall the wine is a bit off its balance, as it lacks harmony and elegance.
Aftertaste
The wine has a long finish and a quite green, seedy-tart aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine wine of Argentina and, with a total of 90.8 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.
Conclusion: this is a quite rustic and savory malbec wine – quite fruity, yet green and angular – a wine that is still too young to be enjoyed. It requires at least 2 or 3 more years of bottle ageing in order to smoothen its edges and develop some much desired elegance. That said, it is of important to understand a wine’s limits: there are wines that might gain some much desired finesse with age, yet there are also wines that are elegant enough in their yearly stages and age will only take its toll on them. We have always said that it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. What we do recommend thou, is to pair this wine with fat-and-protein-rich meaty dishes, especially those with natural umami flavours, like for example a pan-seared filet mignon steak or a grilled sirloin steak with tomato basil sauce, so that all the sharp edges in the wine will be perfectly countered by the fats and proteins of the dish. Cheers!
WineStatistics tasting results:
TERRAZAS
Terrazas de los Andes | Malbec | 2016
grape: | malbec |
overall rating: | 90.8 |
maturity: on the rise
conclusion: fine | (highly recommended)
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© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.
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