2006 Malbec

According to Hobbs, 2006 was one of the great vintages of his 20 year career in Argentina. The near perfect 2006 Cobos Malbec Marchiori Vineyard is my favorite of this remarkable collection. A glass-coating, saturated opaque purple/black in color, the wine offers up a sexy/kinky bouquet of pain grille, Asian spices, pencil lead, mineral, lavender, blueberry, and black cherry. On the palate there is layer upon layer of savory fruit, spice notes, espresso, and chocolate as well as exquisite balance. The wine’s finish lasts for more than a minute. Try a bottle, bury the rest in your cellar for ten years, and then drink them from 2018 to 2040. Vina Cobos is Paul Hobbs’ winery in Mendoza. He is better known (at least for the moment) to USA connoisseur/collectors for his namesake winery in Napa Valley which has received many accolades (including 100-point scores from Robert Parker) for its Cabernets, Pinot Noirs, and Chardonnays. What is less well known is that Hobbs is a pioneer in fine wine production in Argentina, having started there in 1988 with Nicolas Catena. Senor Catena gives Hobbs much credit for the success of Catena-Zapata’s Chardonnay program. He has since extended his consulting efforts both in Argentina and Chile but the capstone of Hobbs’ work is Vina Cobos which began in 1998 and moved into its own winery facility in 2007. The first vintage of the top-of-the-line Cobos Malbec Marchiori Vineyard was 1998 but it was ruined by rain and never sold in the USA. 2000 and 2001 were not up to par, 2000 being the El Nino year and 2001 being too dilute, resulting in their declassification. Importer: Paul Hobbs Imports, Sebastopol, CA; tel. (707) 824-9879