Altocedro, La Consulta, Uco Valley (Mendoza, Argentina) Malbec 2022

 Founded in 1999 by Karim Mussi, a third-generation Lebanese immigrant, Altocedro is a small winery whose owners helped draw attention to the La Consulta sub-region.  Located on the southern end of the Uco Valley, La Consulta is a small town surrounded by some of the oldest vineyards in the Uco Valley, and all the major players like Catena and Zuccardi now have a stake there.  For this Malbec, the winery follows a gravity flow system and begins by using native yeasts for the whole berry fermentation in concrete tanks.  About a third of the wine was aged in small oak for 10 months.  Pitch black in appearance, it offers up lots of juicy ripe plum and earthy, dried herbs aromatics.  It is amazingly rich and smooth on the palate with juicy berry flavors and velvety tannins that add to the texture.  The depth of flavor and texture set it apart from typical commercial Malbec.  It is enjoyable now and should hold up well through 2028.