Vina Alicia ‘Paso De Piedra’ Malbec 2018
Demonstrating that old school restraint and elegance can indeed combine with new world opulence and power. Impressive dark fruits, with underlying savory edginess and slight hint of fresh violets on the nose. Palate is concentrated and expansive, without being overbearing and oppressive – ample weight, but not a sledgehammer, retaining good drive and focus and even lift. Gorgeous, silky smooth tannins on the finish. Perhaps a little too easy to drink. Sexy wine!
93 points James Suckling
Harvested by hand, in 40lb plastic bins, in order to prevent damage to fruit. Harvest takes place around mid March each year. Back at the winery, table sorting is done, following destemming. Fermentation is performed in large oak foudres, with repeated pump overs and punch downs, in order to achieve softer tannins and great color. Malolactic fermentation takes place partly in steel tanks and the rest in French oak barrels. The wine then returns to the oak barrels, where it ages for about 6-8 months. The Arizu’s believe in non-interventionist winemaking and for the most part, wine is left alone once it goes to barrel. Following its maturation, it is coarsely filtered through natural earth
filters which optimizes clarity and removes impurities. Bottling follows, without fining.