Vina Alicia Morena Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
The color is saturated dark red garnet. The wine has great natural tannins and structure for good aging potential. Mature flavors of dark cherry and blackcurrant fill the bouquet with undertones of cedar and cigar box notes. On the palate there is additional complexity with notes of blueberry and chocolate. The Cabernet Franc adds the raspberry, currant and stone-like flavors.
“The 2019 Morena wears the subtitle “7 Clones” and was produced with a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Cabernet Franc from five different Cabernet Sauvignon clones and two different Cabernet Franc clones from their organically farmed vineyard in Lunlunta, at 900 meters in altitude. The clones fermented separately with a long maceration, and the aging was in new French barriques and was six months separately; the wine was then blended and put in barrel for a further 12 to 14 months. The wine is powerful but restrained, with 14% alcohol, floral and with a notable absence of green aromas, developing a faint note of tomato vine with time in the glass but starting with notes of honey and wax. It’s perfumed and floral with notes of pollen but with a minty and balsamic core, very Cabernet. It’s full bodied, has fine-grained, varietal tannins and a serious, dry finish. 7,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2020.”
92 Points – Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate
Viticulture in this vineyard is practiced without fertilizers, herbicides or insecticides – only natural products are used, together with biological pest control & controlled surface irrigation with mountain water (rich in minerals and sediments). Harvest is carried out manually in 25-30 lb crates to avoid berry damage. By harvest, the vines have undergone two bunch selections: the first after flowering and the second at veraison. Upon arrival at the winery, the third bunch selection is carried out manually on sorting tables to separate immature, dry or withered grapes, before destemming takes place. A lengthy maceration, lasting 25-30 days, then follows in open tanks. Fermentation temperature is 86-90°F to enhance anthocyanin extraction. “Pumping up” and “Punching down” procedures are performed daily. Fermentation and maceration of all 7 components of this wine are carried out separately, given the different maturity points. Once alcoholic fermentation ends, wine is racked to 100% new French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation. Following this stage, barrels are cleaned and wines are returned for 4-5 months more, to develop character. Then the “assemblage” is done and the final cuvee is returned to barrel for 10 more months. The wine is then moved to a “cold chamber” for 60 days, at very low temperature for stabilization, before being bottled without filtering. Bottle ageing lasts a year before market release.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon 88%, Cabernet Franc 12%. 40 Year old vines
Appellation: San Alberto, Lunluta, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza Argentina
Elevation: 900m above sea level
Soil: Clay and limestone
Irrigation: Natural surface irrigation from mountain streams.
Density: 11,300 plants per hectare
Production: 45 hectoliters per hectare
Storage: 100% New French oak barrels for 12 months
About this wine
Growing Cabernet Sauvignon in Mendoza is no joke – it’s hard work. Not because it doesn’t ripen, but because it ripens too fast, if you’re not paying attention. Cooler sites are important, as is the correct clonal selection in the vineyard. Alberto Arizu Snr. is a fastidious farmer and plant scientist. He is otherwise known as the “Mondavi of Mendoza” and the country of Argentina owes him a debt of gratitude for all his viticultural pioneering that has helped lay the foundation for their commercial success. Morena is the result of many decades of experimental plantings and winemaking R&D. Today he has 5 different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon under vine on this property, each contributing a different element to the finished wine. He learned years ago that Cab Sauv, in this part of the world was better served with the inclusion of a small amount of Cab Franc, and so he has 2 clones of that planted in this vineyard. The best way to describe this wine would be to suggest that it tastes like a quality left bank Bordeaux property, got together with a benchmark Napa Valley property, and had a baby!
