Noemia J Alberto Malbec 2020

Description

This leading Patagonia winery is located in Rio Negro Valley, 620 miles south of Buenos Aires in the middle of the desert of Patagonia, Argentina. The climate is bone dry with just seven inches of rain each year. The dry climate with a maximum humidity of 30% keeps the area free of disease; the atmosphere is pristine, pure and unpolluted.

Bodega Noemia is owned by Italian wine producer countess Noemi Cinzano (of the vermouth family) and Danish winemaker Hans Vinding-Diers. Hans had been working in a commercial winery in Patagonia when he discovered some very special museum wines in the cellar. Captivated he tracked down the source of these wines; a 1930’s planting of Malbec which became the foundation for Bodega Noemia. They fell in love with the place and decided to restore it to its original condition. After buying the grapes from this semi-abandoned vineyard in 2001, their first vintage was made in an old fruit packing shed. They destemmed the grapes by hand at night, and put them in open fibreglass tanks so they could crush them with their feet. In 2004, Noemi and Hans bought that same vineyard and have continued the project to this day. Another vineyard planted in the 50’s was then discovered, and younger vines planted. The old vines are certified organic and planted on their own roots (phylloxera is yet to make it here) which allows 30% more sap flow in the vine, creating wines with great energy.

The hallmark of this bodega is “elegancia”, a seamless palate of balance and finesse – not big tannic blockbusters often typical of Mendoza.

About this wine from the winery: “These 4 hectares of vineyards were planted in 1955. The vines are massale selection, original rootstock ungrafted, so there is nothing clonal about these vines, and each one is genetically different from the other. The vineyard is composed of 95% Malbec interplanted with 5% Merlot. It is irrigated up to 4 times a year by traditional method of flooding, with water of maximum purity coming from the Río Negro, which is the soul of our valley. The vineyard does not receive any type of treatment, sprays or sulphites; it is certified organic.”

Wow this release has the goods .. top shelf ‘tinto’ (95% Malbec, 5% Merlot) displays extraordinary purity of fruit, pin point focus, depth that flows seamlessly, fine grained tannins and gorgeous integration of oak. Halleluia to this fine wine, up there with the finest from Argentina!

94 points, Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media “The 2020 Malbec J Alberto is a Malbec with a 5% dash of Merlot from an old vineyard first planted in 1935 in Mainqué, Río Negro. Half aged in cement and 600 liter barrels, the rest was kept in stainless steel. Bright purple in the glass, fresh cherries are intertwined in the nose with violets, black tea and hints of country herbs as part of a substantial but delicate profile. The aging process plays a supporting role but offers no more than a faint whiff of orange petit fours. On the palate, the balance is precise with delicate weights and measures in which the flow is lean and releases an energy toward the end that fades entropically like a wind-up toy. An elegant wine.”

93 points, James.Suckling.com “Blueberries, cranberries, dried herbs and a white-pepper note. A juicy, medium-bodied red, showing good crunchy fruit and juiciness with tight, sandy tannins. Some savory, earthy fruit in the finish. Drink now.” 

RRP $115  *Our Special Price $98.99 a bottle when you buy 6 or more of this wine*