The Uno Malbec from Antigal Winery is a soft, medium to full-bodied wine, with thick scents of plum, blackberry, purple flowers, baking spice and cocoa. The Malbec grapes were sourced from Uco Valley, the high-elevation-heart of Mendoza, responsible for some of the finest wines in the country of Argentina.
The winery building itself is one of the oldest still-operating wineries in Mendoza, dating back to 1897. In the year 2000, however, the winery was renovated completely, transforming from a bulk, workhorse winery to Antigal, a home for refined, high-quality Argentinian wines. Uno was Antigal’s first vintage, released in 2005 and crafted with fruits from a single vineyard.
The palate is packed with red currants, cassis, blackberry, raisin, and subtle spice accents of cinnamon, vanilla and star anise. It’s extremely smooth in terms of mouthfeel, driven by a slow current of acidity and silky, finely-grained tannins. The Malbec spent 8-10 months ageing in barrels of French and American oak. As the wine opens up, bonus notes of coffee and tobacco add some extra personality and complexity. Consider pairing it with pungent cheese, or something classically Argentinian, such as steak.