With structure similar to Cabernet and fruitfulness similar to Merlot, Grand Reserve Malbec is dimensional enough to fascinate the enthusiast, yet smooth enough to please the novice. In this stately bottle, some of the best grapes in the region become one of the best wines in the world.

VINIFICATION:

From shoot to shelf, Piattelli wine results from tireless personal oversight by winemaker Valeria Antolin and general director Gabriel Fidel. With consultant Roberto de la Mota and an expert staff, they constantly pursue vinicultural perfection.

• Grapes were hand-picked and destemmed
• Grapes underwent 5 days of cold maceration
• Fermented in 5,000 to 10,000-liter stainless steel tanks
• Manual punch-down for optimal juice/skin interaction

AGING: Grand Reserve Malbec was aged for 12 months in small, first- or second-use French- and American-oak barrels and then bottle-aged an additional 12 months.

TASTING NOTES:

With a color that gradates from an intense, blue-purple core to a bright red rim, Grand Reserve Malbec’s expanding bouquet integrates perfectly with its dark fruit and chocolate coffee flavor, lingers with a moderate tannin pull, and finishes with understated-yet-resonant oak.

AGRELO, LUJÁN DE CUYO, MENDOZA:

• Elevation: 3,200 feet
• World's best Malbec grapes
• Grapes thrive in robust soil
• Water is irrigated from the Andes mountains
• Warm dry days, cool nights maximize color and tannins
• Arid environment minimizes common viticultural challenges
• Malbec grapes are grown on 70-year-old vines, which are managed to yield only 3.7 pounds of fruit per vine and 3.1 tons per acre

WINEMAKER NOTES:

When we created Grand Reserve Malbec, our aim was to exceed the reputation that we established when Wine Spectator awarded our 2007 vintage 92 points. Did we succeed? Email your feedback here.