After a weeks worth of my beloved Argentine Malbec, ARUMA, I decided to see what else is on the horizon from the partnership of Nicolas Catena and Barons de Rothschild Lafite. ARUMA, one of their wines, was so wonderful and affordable and was a great escape from European wines.
What else do they make that is in or under the twenty dollar range? ARUMA was under fifteen.
A wine friend of mine from San Francisco suggested a Malbec-Cabernet Sauvignon blend, called AMANCAYA. Its 72% Malbec and 28% Cabernet Sauvignon. She suggested that I try the 2017 because it’s classified as an exceptional vintage.
The wines from Rothschild are well known for their lightly toasted barrels, which helps to preserve the aromatics. The oak integrates with the fruit, producing a well balanced, harmonious wine in the Bordeaux style.
After finding AMANCAYA online, it was apparent that the 2017 is a perfectly balanced blend of both the Bordeaux and Argentinian styles, resulting into an evolution of Malbec’s fruity side paired with the elegance of Cabernet Sauvignon. The high altitude of Mendoza seems to be the perfect setting for the 2017 AMANCAYA Reserve Red Blend.
The taste profile of this wine darts from dry to fairly acidic, a bit tannic, yet bold in style. The wine is an example of the meeting of the minds of Nicolas Catena and Barons de Rothschild Lafite.
Notes of vanilla, chocolate, plum, blackberry, leather, earth and smoke intermingle to make this a seamless wine.
And a wine you should try.
Argentina is a land of wine bargains, especially those made by this partnership. I can only imagine what a high end wine might taste like. If the two under twenty dollar wines I have sampled were this good, there’s no telling what is in store in the premium category.
Stay tuned for my next installment.
Philip S. Kampe
Philip.kampe@thewinehub.com
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