Piedra Negra Chacayes Single Vineyard Organic Malbec Cot 2017

Piedra Negra "Chacayes" Single Vineyard Organic Malbec/Cot, IG Los Chacayes, Vista Flores, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina, 2017

Grapes: 50% Malbec (oak barrel ferment) & 50% Cot (concrete tank ferment), vineyards on alluvial gravel soil at 1100m.a.s.l altitude, high density planting 20,000 vines per hectare, certified organic farming using biodynamic principles, hand harvested, 24 months' ageing in new French oak barrels

Deep red-garnet colour. Intense red fruit notes, balanced with complex coffee notes from the ageing in oak. Complex & full bodied with ripe tannins highlighting the red and black fruits with floral notes showing great length, with mocha nuances on the finish. The Malbec vines are among the oldest in the Los Chacayes region. The wine has the potential to age for decades. Drink 2022-2029.

“Los Chacayes Malbec has a very fresh expression in the nose, sometimes floral with violets. But in the palate it has great structure and volume. This can be a challenge in winemaking to have a gentle enough extraction to retain elegance, yet without losing the concentration and volume that you get from this place."

Thibault Lepoutre, Chief Winemaker, Piedra Negra

Awarded 91/100 points, Tim Atkin MW, January 2020

(The 2015 vintage was rated 96/100 and was the #8 wine in the Wine Spectatopr Top 100, 2020)

A pioneer in the Uco Valley, Bodega Piedra Negra was established in 1996. François Lurton was the first person to plant vines in the foothills of the Andes Cordillera, at an altitude of 1100 m.a.sl., in semi-desert conditions in the middle of what would become the Geographical Indication of Los Chacayes (the poor, gravelly, alluvial soil is reminiscent of Pessac-Léognan in Bordeaux!). Drawing on expertise acquired all over the world, he immediately introduced environmentally friendly growing methods, and his 99 hectares of vines are managed organically and in adherence to biodynamic principles. In addition to Argentine selections of Malbec, the estate also grows French clonal selections of the grape (known as Cot). In white grapes they offer a rare source of wines produced from Pinot Gris & Corte Friulano (Tokaji Fruilano).

Food Match: Roasted duck breast with cloudberry sauce, smoky barbecue ribs, sirloin steak with green pepper sauce.