2014 Valle de Uco Malbec Reserve
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Tasting notes
During its previous era, ALH made wines with a cosmopolitan profile and plenty of aging. The year 2014, however, marked a watershed. Garnet in hue with purple flecks. The nose is dominated by ripe fruit with a little balsam, syrup and wood underneath. The profile is mature and developing, while in the mouth the tannins are mild and a little short on flavor with a fruity backdrop. Doesn’t appear to have gained much with time.
Critic scores
Average Score
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
(from vineyards on limestone-rich soil): Bright ruby-red. Sexy pungency to the aromas of blackcurrant, mocha, licorice and sweet oak. A juicy, savory, nicely delineated midweight with a restrained sweetness and an impression of soil character. An element of minerality gives the finish noteworthy subtle salty persistence. Boasts more energy and definition than the Malbec Terroir and Clásico, with suaver tannins. There's nothing forced or over the top about this vinous Malbec. I like this style.
The calcareous influence here is 100% calcium carbonate – not limestone. In desert soil you often have calcium carbonate formation in situ, ie pedogenic lime (as also in the semi-arid conditions of Central Otago). It starts to layer the bottom of the rock and it saturates and then grows around the rock. Fruit from Altamira and Gualtallary sites. Fermented in concrete. Aged in botti (3,500 litres) from both France (François Frères) and Italy (Gamba). Inky crimson with a lovely peppery fragrance of dark fruit. Chalky dusty freshness, super-fine dry chalky texture, that limestone/concrete finesse that is bone dry but not drying. Extreme finesse in the tannins, dark and elegant and not fruity on the palate but fresh. Great freshness and length. (JH)
There is quite a jump in price for the 2014 Malbec Reserve. Here the grapes are grown on chalky soils with round stones in Altamira, Gualtallary and a touch of Vista Flores (that they are not using anymore) that fermented with indigenous yeasts and without any acid correction. The wine was aged in untoasted 3,500-liter oak foudres for 16 months. There is also a jump in quality, a serious wine where the minerality and freshness rule. This wine will please more advanced drinkers, with its subtle minerality, its balance and tasty, almost salty finish. This is a sleek, fine and elegant representation of the limestone soils of the Valle de Uco. To me this wine should be the one called terroir, and the previous wine should be the 'reserve'—this feels purer. But there you go. 80,760 bottles produced.