Versado Reserva Malbec 2010

I first tasted and reviewed this beautiful Malbec in 2015. What a treat for consumers to be able to purchase a well-aged wine of this calibre. ‘The thing with great vineyards,’ says Niagara’s Peter Gamble, co-owner of Versado with his wife Ann Sperling, ‘you really don’t have to do anything once you understand the fruit.’ The second release of the Reserva is made from low yield, small berry Malbec that’s hand-picked, hand sorted, berry selected and spends 22 months in French oak (75%) new after wild fermentation in concrete vats. The planting for this block is from 1920. I retried this spectacular wine just recently with Gamble. When Gamble tasted the wine shortly after the original release he felt it was tight and needed time to soften. ‘That’s why we held some back.’ It simply needed cellaring to absorb all that new oak, he said. It certainly is a much more profound wine than the one I tasted in 2015. The nose is stunning with vivid blueberry pie perfume, cedar, black currants, cassis, plums, fine French oak spice that’s nicely integrated 13 years after the vintage, some peppery/minty notes, subtle roasted vanilla bean and anise. It’s rich, textured and showy on the palate with layers of ripe, dark fruits, fine-grained tannins, black licorice, minty herbs, and gorgeous spice notes that marry well to the abundance of fruit, all leading to a long, echoing finish with finesse and flair. This is not drinking like a 2010 Malbec, it’s still evolving and getting better. Such a rare treat to have this available to consumers. Can further develop for another 10 years. Score – 95. (Rick VanSickle, winesinniagara.com, May 8, 2023)