De Martino Old Vine Series Las Cruces Malbec/Carmenère 2019

With two thirds of malbec and one third of carmenere, all mixed in a vineyard planted in the Las Cruces area in 1957, these grapes have been used for this single vineyard since the 2003 vintage. De Martino has owned the 3.2-hectare vineyard since 2011, and they use it to obtain one of the brightest and freshest wines in their catalog. This year, despite the warm, dry season – but thanks to an early harvest to avoid over-ripeness – the wine shines in fruity, spicy, and meaty flavors and aromas in a context of medium body with very fresh, vibrant acidity as well as a fabric of firm, very active, and tense tannins. A wine to keep for a decade. Score – 96. (Patricio Tapia, guiadescorchados.cl, 2022)