The deep purple-colored 2009 Malbec is the estate’s entry-level wine and includes 15% Cabernet Sauvignon in its blend. It was aged for 12 months in 60% new French oak and bottled without fining or filtration. Asian spices, incense, licorice, lavender, and black cherry are just some of the elements composing the wine’s aromatic array. In the glass it is dense, rich, full-bodied, and powerful yet surprisingly light on its feet. It conceals enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years but can be approached now. It is an ideal match for one of Argentina’s unequaled free-range rib-eye steaks grilled over a wood fire.San Pedro de Yacochuya is a partnership of the Etchart family and Michel Rolland. The average age of the vines is 60 years, and they are planted at 6700 feet of elevation (in the middle of nowhere, having visited here several years ago).Importer: Vine Connections, Sausalito, CA; tel. (415) 332-6466

The 2004 Yacochuya Malbec is aged in both stainless steel and barrel for 18 months. It has a soft, mulberry, sloe and fig-scented bouquet that is a little muffled, with prune and Xmas cake scents emerging with aeration. The palate is dry and mealy in the mouth with brusque tannins. It is fully mature with some toffee notes creeping in towards the spicy, earthy finish that needs more freshness. I find this to be “interesting” more than pleasurable. Drink now. Located in the Calchaqui Valley, this was the first winery that Michel Rolland invested in outside of France back at the dawn of the modern era in 1988 and is a collaboration with Arnaldo Etchart. With respect to the whites, the 2012s were just being bottled when I was conducting my tastings but I hope to review them in the next report. I tasted two vintages of the Yacochuya Malbec with some bottle age and to be honest I was not overly convinced by either, providing more evidence to the prosecution that Malbec is not the greatest grape in terms of propensity to age (and therefore, no fault of the winemaker.) Importer: Vine Connections, Sausalito, CA; tel. (415) 332-8466