91 Luis Gutierrez - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The 2012 Malbec (first vintage was 2003) is a blend of three vineyards from Medrano, one from Lujan, one from Gualtallary (the highest altitude) and one from La Consulta in the Uco Valley. There is a short fermentation (7 days) but it resulted in a very dark-colored, ripe wine with aromas of blackberries, a touch of red fruit, and hints of smoke and spices. It is quite intense. The old vines are always different in the nose and the palate and this feels like an old-vine Malbec, medium-bodied palate, supple, mineral, rounder, velvety, grapy and silkier. Tannin and alcohol are well-integrated and in the background. Drink now-2018. I met very early on with Santiago Achaval one of the leaders of quality wine in Argentina, as he traveled to Madrid to talk and taste his wines with me. He is one of us, he’s passionate about and loves wine. You can see in his eyes there’s a special spark when he talks about wine, and his candid answers make him very approachable. Achaval Ferrer is, by no means, a centenary winery: their adventure only began in 1999. I asked him about how things started and he confessed that they were going to plant a new vineyard, do everything very technologically, everything modern, and they happen to run into the grapes of the Altamira vineyard, which was almost abandoned. When they tasted those grapes they changed their plans and decided to do something to show the potential of those grapes. We had a nice long conversation and Achaval explained his philosophy, beliefs and methods, which were very down to earth and sensible. Everything is fermented in cement, which is a very good regulator and they don’t worry until temperatures reach 33-34 degrees C. As for oak, he also has very clear ideas. “A barrel is an instrument, it is not an ingredient: newer wood means more open pores, “ he said. The other issue is ripeness and it is enough to say that they harvest two or three weeks before their neighbors. I like wine to drink, not wine to taste. The wines should be drinkable on release. I also heard something from him I had not heard before; “If you expose wine to air, and we use big fans, you can lower the alcohol up to 1%”, he said. “ I don’t like to add water to wine, well, there are lots of things I don’t think you should do when you have great grapes, but if the year has given you a little bit of alcohol, I think making it evaporate with these fans is the most natural way to fix the issue.” As you have probably heard, Achaval has new strong financial partners. In April 2011 the Stolichnaya group bought a majority stake in the winery, but according to Santiago Achaval, they do not take part in any decisions, Stolichnaya wants them to continue doing the same thing. They have done good marketing, but they have also made very good wine. The wines are not extracted, they are not heavy, and not excessive. Are they powerful? Yes, they are. But they show just what the grapes in Mendoza are capable of . “When you have low yields and concentrated grapes you do not need to extract,” Achaval said. “When you have all the power in the grapes you go very carefully.” Later on we also met at the Finca Altamira when I was visiting Mendoza, as I was impressed when I tasted the wine and wanted to see the vineyard. He brought a couple of vintages of the wine and we drank it under the trees by the vines, which is a fantastic way to understand the link between place and wine. So let’s take a look at what I tasted. The Mendoza line blends grapes from different zones in the province, and is always bottled before the next harvest. It is two varietal wines, 90% of the bottles are from Malbec and 10% Cabernet which only started in 2011. "