Wine Reviews

Shows a decent amount of oak but wears it well, offering clove and vanilla notes around a ripe, brambly berry core, with touches of coffee bean on the finish. Another push of berries at the end lends this version ripe tannins

Rich, muscular and slightly austere, with leather and ripe plum aromas and flavors up front, followed by a core of plum and roasted herbs supported by loamy, clay notes and mineral acidity, all culminating with grip on the finish. Drink now through 2028.

The 2018 Malbec Alizarine was produced with Malbec from a vineyard planted in Las Compuertas in 1923. It achieved 15% alcohol but kept balance and poise, and it has clout and harmony in a powerful style. This is a structured Malbec, typical Las Compuertas with very integrated oak after one year in 225- and 600-liter French oak barrels. It’s ripe and full-bodied, nicely balanced with a tenderer mouthfeel than in previous years. They seem to have managed to control the muscular part of this wine. 3,462 bottles were filled in March 2020.

The 2019 Malbec Single Vineyard Alizarine is made with grapes from a vineyard planted in Las Compuertas around 1930 and was aged for 12 months in two-thirds new French barrels. Purple in the glass. The nose presents red fruit, ripe plum and a remote whiff of violets joined by cedar, vanilla and oak from the aging process. A classically made wine. The palate presents refined, rounded, but grippy tannins and a degree of volume. Intense and graceful with a fairly smooth texture that helps to reaffirm the Las Compuertas character

Intriguing complexity on the nose with a white pepper lift from the ripe but fresh blackberries, blue fruit, hot stone, mussels, graphite and roasted spices. Full-bodied on the palate with nicely woven tannins and a juicy, lingering finish. Savory salinity at the end.