2014 Malbec Single Vineyard

I tasted an unbottled barrel sample of a new single vineyard Malbec, the 2014 Malbec Single Vineyard Catalina, produced with fruit from a dry farmed vineyard that was planted in Bío Bío in the south of Chile in 1914. The sample was incredibly spicy, which I'm told is a characteristic of the Malbec from Bio-Bio, but when I tasted it after bottling in August 2014, the wine had calmed down quite a lot and had turned subtler. As with their other wines, it also fermented in the new spherical cement vats used in 2014 for the first time. It is still absolutely wild, aromatic and captivating, and the extra time of élevage has done it good. This is an old vineyard (100-years-old), where the varieties are planted together, so there's a lot of País and some Cabernet Franc mixed with the Malbec; they only use the Malbec for this bottling, but they are also experimenting with the other grapes. It has moderate alcohol and great acidity, much cooler than the Constanza. The palate has unbelievable acidity, focus and precision, as well as power, concentration and a surprisingly silky texture; the wine also has the sweet tannins of the Malbec and the upfront, strict minerality of the granite. Long and persistent, the wine became more focused with time in the glass, so decanting it in advance might be a good idea. The evolution in the glass also gives a sign that the aging bottle should be quite long. Gobsmacking Malbec! 1,260 bottles produced.