Antucura Gran Vin 2009
View: Light ruby color with reflections of evolution in the range of browns. Nose: delicate aroma of ripe red fruit, complex and very good match between the barrel and the wine. Perceived notes of vanilla and caramel. Taste: aromatic, with finesse and attack soft tannins and long. It has a full expression, with a final harmonious and persistent. Finesse and elegance are the two words to describe this wine.
91 pts Stephen Tanzer’s International Wne Cellar (ST)
(48% merlot and 26% each cabernet sauvignon and malbec): Good full ruby-red. Black- and redcurrant, licorice and spicy, chocolatey oak on the nose. Sweet, plush and very ripe, with plum, truffle and milk chocolate flavors enlivened by harmonious acidity. Melting, complex wine with polished, building tannins and excellent breadth. (Incidentally, I retasted the highly successful 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004 bottlings alongside the ’09: the plummy, very ripe ’04, with a high-pH mouth feel, should be drunk now, while the other three are still developing. The 2006 is a knockout–at least as good as the 92 points I rated it two years ago.)
Harvest: Manual, in 18 Kg plastic bins. Production: Double selection of clusters and grape: fermentation to 24-26 degrees centigrade in stainless steel tanks of 100-150 Hl; extended maceration during 30-45 days: natural malolactic fermentation. Aging: eighteen months in new French oak barrels, then bottles were stored for twelve months with controlled temperature light and humidity before releasing.