Country: | Argentina |
Region: | Mendoza |
Winery: | Otaviano Bodega & Vinedos |
Grape Type: | Malbec |
Vintage: | 2013 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Penedo Borges Icono Malbec is made from 85% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot
Dark purple color.
Complex aromas of predominent ripe red fruit such as plum, cherry and raspberry with spicy notes.
Chocolate and vanilla flavors from barrel ageing which provide complexity and elegance.
Wine of great lenght.
Red meats, lamb, beef stew, strong cheese.
Review:
Icon is a selection from the winery, that is, of the best barrels of the year, basically with Malbec that occupies 85% of the final blend. The selection is made after a year of aging in barrels. The fruit of this selection is a wine of great depth of flavors, with spicy and herbal touches and with firm, sharp and penetrating tannins. In addition, there are earthy notes that project throughout the palate. An old school wine with an austere structure. One for the Cellar.
-Descorchados 94 Points
"Ripe berry and cassis aromas come with a blast of potent oak, but overall the nose on this Malbec is appealing in a bold manner. Airing is vital to smoothing out the tartaric bite this brings, while flavors of blackberry, dark plum, vanilla and mocha finish long and smoother than the palate. Drink this fully oaked and powerfully built Malbec through 2027. - MICHAEL SCHACHNER"
- Wine Enthusiast (July 2021), 93 pts
Penedo Borges Icono Malbec is made from 85% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot
Dark purple color.
Complex aromas of predominent ripe red fruit such as plum, cherry and raspberry with spicy notes.
Chocolate and vanilla flavors from barrel ageing which provide complexity and elegance.
Wine of great lenght.
Red meats, lamb, beef stew, strong cheese.
Penedo Borges Icono Edicion Aniversario is made from 31% Cabernet Franc, 27% Petit Verdot, 18% Malbec, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Syrah.
This red blend is made to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the launch of Penedo Borges Icono. It is a tribute to 10 years of learning, effort, dedication and passion for what they do. For this reason, they have chosen a blend of Cabernet Franc, Petit verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah as a faithful representation of teamwork, where each team member highlights with their best version. Penedo Borges Icono Anniversary Edition is a complex and elegant wine, with great structure and volume and a long finish, thus making the trajectory of the winery and their History.
Deep red color with violet hues. On the nose, it presents balanced notes of ripe fruit, with spices and herbal aromas that give great complexity. Its aging in oak finishes harmonizing aromatically the wine with notes of vanilla and chocolate. In the mouth, the sweetness of its tannins give a complex and long finish.
Review:
"This has dark, chocolatey character with notes of black fruit, vanilla, pinewood and hazelnuts. Medium-to full-bodied, compact and a little tight with a firm texture and bright acidity. Layered. Needs time to open and soften. Cabernet franc, petit verdot, malbec, cabernet sauvignon and syrah. Drink now."
- James Suckling (May 2022), 92 pts
The Rubus Project was created by Fran Kysela as a way to source & sell incredible wines at value prices. All wines in this international project are hand-selected by Fran Kysela. Rubus wines are fruit driven, true-to-type values that over deliver - a true representation of quality for the consumer at an excellent price.
Sourced from ten-year-old vines in Paraje Altamira.
This Icon Malbec is suave and rich, offering loads of dark plum, currant and dried blackberry flavors supported by notes of soft spices. Molten chocolate notes emerge on the mid-palate, with Asian spice accents. The finish is long and ripe with a loamy character.
Pairs with grilled red meats, roast lamb, marinated chicken, pizza and pasta dishes, Asian cuisine.
Review:
- Wine & Spirits (October 2021), 92 pts
The Rubus Project was created by Fran Kysela as a way to source & sell incredible wines at value prices. All wines in this international project are hand-selected by Fran Kysela. Rubus wines are fruit driven, true-to-type values that over deliver - a true representation of quality for the consumer at an excellent price.
Sourced from ten-year-old vines in Paraje Altamira.
This Icon Malbec is suave and rich, offering loads of dark plum, currant and dried blackberry flavors supported by notes of soft spices. Molten chocolate notes emerge on the mid-palate, with Asian spice accents. The finish is long and ripe with a loamy character.
Pairs with grilled red meats, roast lamb, marinated chicken, pizza and pasta dishes, Asian cuisine.
“1752” is the name of the Damilano Barolo Cannubi Riserva, in honor of the year in which the historic bottle was first marked “Cannubi”. It still exists today perfectly conserved by the Manzone family in Bra, close to Barolo. The bottle is clearly marked as being of “1752” vintage, indicating that Cannubi historically precedes Barolo.
About the Vineyard:
The Cannubi Cru is in found within one of the 6 core zones which comprise a UNESCO heritage site in Italy. A mixture of Tortonian and Helvetian calcareous marl gives the grapes intense aromas of cherry, plum and tobacco, rose and violet in sequence. Its low potassium and high calcium/magnesium content offer the wine a fine and polished touch. The vineyard is located at about 270 m. a.s.l. and has a south-east sun exposure. Barolo Riserva Cannubi 1752 It is a small plot of about 2 hectares of Nebbiolo vines, currently between 30 and 50 years of age.
Tasting Notes:
Garnet ruby red in color, the bouquet is intense and balanced, with notes of violet, red fruit, cherry and plum, spices, liquorice, cocoa, leather and tobacco. Dry, robust, full-bodied, very persistent, rich and velvety
Food Pairing:
This wine is excellent with typical piedmontes pasta (tajarin, ravioli); perfect with red meat, braised and roast meat, game and absolutely ideal with all types of cheeses.
Review:
The purity of this wine is pretty phenomenal with blackberries, strawberries, fresh flowers and licorice. Hints of tar. It’s full-bodied, yet composed and compact with ultra fine tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Very structured. Try after 2024.
-James Suckling 97 Points
Made from 85% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot
Dark purple color.
Complex aromas of predominent ripe red fruit such as plum, cherry and raspberry with spicy notes.
Chocolate and vanilla flavors from barrel ageing which provide complexity and elegance.
Wine of great lenght.
Red meats, lamb, beef stew, strong cheese.
Review:
"Full medium ruby. Brooding aromas of blackberry, bitter chocolate and violet, along with some superripe suggestions leavened by floral lift. Suave, plush and rich, showing attractive oaky complexity and a firm shape to the dark berry, pepper, herb and spice flavors. Classically dry for a wine with such inviting sweetness of fruit. Balanced to give early pleasure but has the stuffing for positive development in bottle. - Stephen Tanzer"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (Argentina The Cool Years, March 2016), 90pts
The winery was born in 2004, when 4 friends, passionate about wine and Argentina, decided to enter the wine world by choosing one of the most elegant and distinguished terroirs for red wine in the province Lujan de Cuyo, best known as the land of Malbec.
Winery Acreage: 48 hectares (119 acres)
OTAVIANO WINERY:
The winery has a very modern design and was built with material from the region. It is surrounded by the vineyards and overlooks the Andes Range.
Traditional and cutting-edge techniques are mixed in our production in order to obtain high quality wines.
The winery has stainless steel fermentation and conservation tanks with temperature control, an underground cellar perfectly conditioned for wine aging in oak barrels and a storage room where bottles finish their maturation process.
LOCATION:
Otaviano Winery and Vineyards is located in the highest part of Alto Agrelo, Luján de Cuyo, 300 meters south of the International Route 7 (Km 8)
The estate has 48 hectares of vineyards with the winery in its centre. The place has an incredible view of the Andes Mountain Range and it is ideal to enjoy our sunsets.
ELABORATION:
Our Wines are designed from the vine. There is a thorough work carried out through the different varietal sectors. The vine load is carefully regulated to obtain the perfect balance of the plant and in so doing, get wines that express the maximum potential of our terroir.
In the winery, the grapes are carefully selected with traditional and cutting-edge techniques. By keeping strict control of all the process variables, we are able to preserve and enhance the quality of our wines. These are characterized for being honest, expressive wines with a perfect balance between the fruit of each variety and the ageing in oak.
Our vineyards are located at 1,050 mts above sea level, at the foot of the Andes, where the thermal amplitude and the perfect sunlight give way to a well balanced and high quality harvest. Different grape varieties are selected from the native land, which has deep ground and sandy characteristics. The crops are carefully handled with accurate viticulture techniques and the environment is well taken care of with low impact agrochemicals. The grapes are harvested in 18 kg cases when the vines express their maximum potential.
MALBEC (24 HECTARES)
This variety from the Southwest of France is the one that has experienced the best adaptation to the Argentinean soil, providing exceptional wines of intense aroma, very concentrated purple color and pleasant taste. Without any doubt Argentina produces the best Malbec specimens in the world. Malbec is made as a light young red wine with fresh fruity aromas or as a wine with good body and storage capacity with highlighted ripe berry aromas. It is grown in every viticulture region in the country and provides the best samples in Mendoza, in the regions of Lujan de Cuyo and Maipú. Because Malbec is an emblematic and standard variety, the wineries in Argentina experience an interesting growth in the international market and it is very well positioned among the best wines in the world.
CABERNET SAUVIGNON (12 HECTARES)
Historically associated with the Grand Bordeaux region, it is the most widely recognized red variety in the world. This is due to the particular adaptation of this vine in different winemaking regions, without losing its essence. It produces a wine rich in tannins and color that blends with other less tannic varieties, such as Merlot or Cabernet Franc. These young wines are rough and hard and this is the reason why they are better aged in oak or in the bottle to tame their consistent structure. They are powerful wines, with pleasant aromas and notes that remind us of berries, green peppers and spices.
SYRAH (6 HECTARES)
Of French origin, it is mainly found in the Rodano Valley and is part of great blends, such as L’Hermitage, Chateauneuf du Pape or Cote Rotie. This grape provides very vigorous, solid wines which are rich in tannins and have long conservation. Aging in wooden casks and bottles suits them really well. These wines have intense aromas which remind us of berries, spices and leather. Just like Malbec, Syrah or Shyraz has adapted quite well to the Argentinean soil, giving excellent varietal and blended wines.
PETIT VERDOT (1.5 HECTARES)
It is a high quality red Wine grape, whose origin is unknown. It was first planted in France, mainly in Bordeaux as a complement to the wines of the region. Its late ripeness did not call the attention of the winemakers at first and was eventually left unnoticed by the middle of the XX century. The name comes from the French and means “small green”, referring to its size and the problem this grape endures when the berries fail to develop properly. Not long ago this grape had a comeback and has become more and more popular, especially in Australia, Chile, Argentina, USA and the original region of Bordeaux. These grapes provide very good color and aromas of berries, spices, chocolate and figs. On the palate, the wine is characterized by strong tannins, good volume and acidity.
CABERNET FRANC (1.5 HECTARES)
Cabernet Franc is a red grape From Bordeaux. Its origin goes back to the XVII century where it was mostly grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to obtain wines in the Bordeaux style. Genetically speaking, it is the father of Cabernet Sauvignon and this makes them perfectly compatible in winemaking terms.
Cabernet Franc produces intense red wines with more aromatic, herbaceous and complex notes than Cabernet Sauvignon. On the palate, it is also lighter, softer and less acid.
CHARDONNAY (3 HECTARES)
Chardonnay takes its name from the small French town in the Burgundy area, and is certainly one of the most appreciated varietal wines in the world. It is an easy to grow grape because of its remarkable ability to adapt to different climatic conditions. The grape from cool climates provides predominant fruity notes, such as apple and pineapple whereas the grape from warmer climates in characterized by tropical fruit notes. It takes part in the elaboration of the best sparkling wines in the world. Chardonnay wines take good level of fermentation and aging in oak and therefore provide aromas such as vanilla, butter and honey. Due to the versatility of the grape, it can be found in Argentina in many possible ways, being either fresh and light or very complex.
SAUVIGNON BLANC (3 HECTARES)
It is the main white grape from Burdeaux and the Loira Valley in France and the world. It has adapted very well to different viticulture regions in the world, such as the Northeast of Italy, Chile, Argentina, and the coast valleys of California and Australia. However, it is the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand which outstands in the world. It offers herbal and citric aromas, sometimes with smoked or wild notes. In Argentina, this grape has gained an important place among the fine white wines and has a very promising future
Weingut Prager Stockkultur Achleiten Gruner Veltliner Smaragd is made from 100 percent Gruner Veltliner.
Franz Prager, co-founder of the Vinea Wachau, had already earned a reputation for his wines when Toni Bodenstein married into the family. Bodenstein’s passion for biodiversity and old terraces, coupled with brilliant winemaking, places Prager in the highest echelon of Austrian producers.
Smaragd is a designation of ripeness for dry wines used exclusively by members of the Vinea Wachau. The wines must have minimum alcohol of 12.5%. The grapes are hand-harvested, typically in October and November, and are sent directly to press where they spontaneously ferment in stainless-steel tanks.
Stockkultur is a 0.3-hectare plot at the top of Achleiten and was purchased by Toni Bodenstein in 2005. The name refers to the old style of training each vine to a single stake; the traditional method of vine cultivation in the Wachau before the 1950s. The vines planted in 1938 are among the oldest in the Wachau.
Tasting Notes:
Prager’s stylistic signature is that of aromatic complexity coupled with power and tension. High-density planting and long hang times ensure ripe fruit flavors and concentration, yet allowing leaves to shade the fruit lend vibrant aromatics of grasses, herbs, and wildflowers. Minerality is a constant feature of any Prager wine.
Food Pairing:
With minimum alcohol of 12.5%, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd is a concentrated and full-bodied dry white wine. Its intensity of flavor and ripeness of fruit make it ideal with high-integrity ingredients such as seared white fish or sautéed spring vegetables. Grüner Veltliner is a classic accompaniment to Wiener Schnitzel.
Review:
From vines planted in 1937 and picked as the first of the Smaragd wines, the 2020 Ried Achleiten Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Stockkultur (planted with 15,000 vines per hectare) opens with a spectacular deep and complex but refined, fresh and flinty bouquet with intense, ripe pear and biscuit aromas. On the palate, this is a dense and lush yet pure, elegant and complex, wide and powerful but also mineral Achleiten with a long, finely tannic and still sweet finish (due to more than 30 grams per liter of dry extract). Tasted at the domaine in June 2021.
At Prager, I could not determine that 2020 would be inferior to the 2019 vintage; on the contrary, the 2020 Smaragd wines fascinated me enormously in their clear, cool, terroir-tinged way. A 38% loss had occurred mainly because of the hail on August 22, although predominantly in the Federspiel or Riesling vineyards. There was no damage in the top vineyards such as Ried Klaus, Achleiten or Zwerithaler. "Interestingly, the vines are in agony for about two weeks after the hail. There was no more growth, no development of ripeness and sugar," reports Toni Bondenstein. The Veltliner then recovered earlier, while even picking a Riesling Federspiel in October was still a struggle. "Why Riesling reacted more intensively to the hail, I don't know myself either," says Bodenstein. Whole clusters were pressed to preserve acidity and to compensate for the lower extract, and compared to 2019, the 2020s were left on their lees longer. In June, however, the 20s in particular showed outstanding early shape.
-Wine Advocate 96 Points
Trump Winery Viognier is made from 100 percent Viognier.
True to its variety, this wine has delicate floral notes and aromas of peach, honeysuckle, and tropical fruits. Barrel aging creates a palate that is round, elegant, and complex, giving the wine additional hints of vanilla and toast. Enjoy with roasted chicken, Asian dishes, poached seafood, and crabcakes.