SuperUco Gualta 2016
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Spirits
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Blend: 65% Malbec, 35% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I tasted the bottled 2016 Superuco Gualta that I had tasted from barrel some 16 months ago, and the wine delivered what the sample promised. It's a blend of Malbec with some 35% Cabernet Franc fermented together in a rolling 500-liter oak barrel after hand-destemming the grapes. The blend was kept with the skins for the summer, pressed in the spring and then put into used 225-liter barriques. The Cabernet Franc adds lots of spicy and peppery notes, and the Malbec provides a little more volume; and the combination comes through as elegant, harmonious and subtle. Truly delicious, it's the finest vintage to date.
Rating: 95+
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Wine Enthusiast
Cola, vanilla and blackberry aromas include welcome notes of mint and spice that add complexity to the nose of this Malbec-Cab Franc blend from Gualtallary in the Uco Valley. A full palate is saturated but not overweight, with rough tannins that reflect the rainy conditions of 2016. Racy berry and peppery flavors finish with tannins that scratch. Serve with steak or lamb to tame the tannins.
Editor's Choice
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Wine & Spirits
The Michelini brothers make this blend at their winery in Los Chacayes, where the stony, calcareous soils inspired them to plant a biodynamic vineyard in 2012. This wine comes off a vineyard planted earlier, in 2008, at 4,600 feet in altitude. A blend of 65 percent malbec cofermented with cabernet franc, then aged in 225-liter French-oak barrels, it speaks clearly of the chill in the air at those heights: It’s lean and peppery, with green and black spice, and a grapefruit acidity driving the flavors in a vertical line. At the end of a long tasting of malbecs, this was the wine I went back to, as much for its pure, cleansing refreshment as for another view of Mendoza’s breathtaking heights.
Other Vintages
2019-
Parker
Robert
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Parker
Robert -
Wong
Wilfred
The Michelini brothers, also winemakers at Mendoza’s renowned Zorzal and Passionate wineries, planted and built their biodynamic winery in the Los Chacayes subregion of the Uco Valley in Argentina in 2012. SuperUco was originally inspired with the intent to showcase three unique calcareous soil types from some of the most highly regarded subregions of the Uco Valley. They produce wines under the Calcareo and SuperUco labels. The dodecahedron shaped winery consists of egg-shaped concrete amphoras, foudres, barrels, and concrete eggs. The two hectare farm is planted in concentric circles so that the vines have 360 degrees of exposure to the sun. The different varietals are planted from the center outward, as its vegetative cycle dictates. This boutique, biodynamic winery produces very limited bottlings of top quality, terroir driven wines.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
With a winning combination of cool weather, high elevation and well-draining alluvial soils, it is no surprise that Mendoza’s Uco Valley is one of the most exciting up-and-coming wine regions in Argentina. Healthy, easy-to-manage vines produce low yields of high-quality fruit, which in turn create flavorful, full-bodied wines with generous acidity.
This is the source of some of the best Malbec in Mendoza, which can range from value-priced to ultra-premium. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay also perform well here.