2020 Malbec
Bells Echo Vineyard
Mendocino—California
14.5% ABV
This wine is the first Malbec since the 2012 Kniights Valley bottling. This wine's greatest achievment is an effortless balance of archetypes. The nose and front of the palate on this wine feel like South American, new-school Malbec, while the driven, tannic, deliberate finish feel like Cahors.
Super juicy pomegranate on the nose with blueberry compote and herbal edges of eucalyptus, chamomile, and lavender. The fruit character is high-toned and explosive. The mid-palate rides the juicy fruit character into a fleshy, slightly grippy core of bluebery skin, peach fuzz and noyaux. A center of acidity follows quickly and narrows the palate as it focuses into a soft-spoken close.
While this wine will age for quite a while, it will evolve dramatically over the first decade. We'll be excited to see where it goes, but for now I'd enjoy the massive fruit character while it is unapologetically precocious.
Bells Echo Vineyard, Mendocino
14.5% ABV
This wine is the first Malbec since the 2012 Kniights Valley bottling. This wine's greatest achievment is an effortless balance of archetypes. The nose and front of the palate on this wine feel like South American, new-school Malbec, while the driven, tannic, deliberate finsih feel like Cahors.
Super juicy pomegranate on the nose with blueberry compote and herbal edges of eucalytus, chamomile, and lavender. The fruit characteris high-toned and explosive. The mid-palate rides the juicy fruit character into a fleshy, slightly grippy core of bluebery skin, peach fuzz and noyaux. A center of acidity follows quickly and narrows the palate as it focuses into a soft-spoken close.
While this wine will age for quite a while, it will evolve dramatically over the first decade. We'll be excited to see wher it goes, but for now I'd enjoy the massive fruit character while it unapologetically pecocious.
