Terrazas de los Andes : Malbec 2022

Full bottle 1,135 g. Certified organic (Organic Argentina) and sustainable (BDA). Super-light bottle – have drastically reduced their carbon footprint (35% lighter, 24% reduction in CO2). Blend of more than 100 vineyard parcels from eight of their high-altitude vineyards (from 1,070 m (3,510 ft) to 1,650 m (5,413 ft)). Grapes are macerated for 15–20 days during fermentation and then aged in French oak barrels for 12 months with a small proportion kept in tank. TA 5.47 g, RS 1.16 g/l, pH 3.71. 2022 suffered from an early January heatwave which accelerated ripening and they had to irrigate. Then they had an atypical March frost in their highest vineyards so had to pick earlier than they wanted to. Very recently bottled, so a little stubborn and muted (even after having been decanted for a couple of hours) – and although I've noted to drink from 2024, I would leave this until the second half or even end of 2024 before opening. Tobacco leaf on the nose and then both floral and gamey. Iris and violets dancing over roast-venison base notes. Vigorous, fiercely salty freshness. Mouth-filling, with roundness and supple tannins. The finish is lightly chewy with good length and leaves the distinctive, satisfying, lingering fragrance and spice-herbiness of freshly cured tobacco leaf. (TC)