Achaval Ferrer "Finca Altamira" Mendoza Malbec 2014

Vinous - Stephen Tanzer : 95 Points

(7/2017) (12 h/h produced from vines more than 80 years of age; aged for 13 months in new French oak): Bright ruby. Knockout pure nose combines pungent scents of blackberry liqueur, smoky minerals, mocha and violet. Wonderfully plush, concentrated and seamless but not yet expressing itself. This penetrating Malbec displays subtle sweetness of berry fruit, saline minerality and strong soil character. A bit sweeter than the Finca Mirador but with every bit as much medicinal reserve. This wine too is clearly more accessible than the 2013 version. Very long, spicy, ripe and alive on the aftertaste, with a hint of violet lift. There's a wildness to this very savory wine that should become even more interesting as it ages. Drinking Window: 2018 - 2026.

Decanter : 95 Points

(5/7/2017) Savoury leathery intensity with ink and tarmac notes. A maturing style but still has plenty of bright red and black fruit and sweet spices backed by refreshing acidity and firm structure from 15 months in French oak. Drinking Window 2017 - 2023.

James Suckling : 96 Points

(6/21/2017) The dried-meat and ripe-fruit character is very intense on the nose with hints of berries, tobacco and wet leaf. Full-bodied, dense and rich with wonderful energized fruit. Layered. Long and zesty finish. Better in 2020.

Wine & Spirits : 95 Points

(6/2017) Achaval Ferrer is one of the pioneering wineries for single-vineyard malbec in Argentina. In 1999, the team debuted with this red from a vineyard planted in 1925, southwest of the Tunuyán River, at an elevation of 3,444 feet. In 2014, the harvest was cool and complicated by rain, yet the result counts among the best from Altamira. It’s austere in aroma, with notes of herbal red fruit, but rich and juicy on the palate, the ripe cherry flavors delineated by a structure of powerful tannins and sharp acidity. Give this at least five years in the cellar, when it should begin to show its complexity; it’s a wine that traditionally ages very well.

Wine Advocate : 96+ Points

(12/30/2016) 2014 started as a normal growing season, but in February it started raining, so the character of many wines is fresh, less powerful and more elegant. These characteristics are clearly reflected in the 2014 Malbec Finca Altamira, which in any case is always the most floral and exuberant of the single-vineyard bottlings. What matters here is the origin, the soils and vines, rather than the process, which is kept more or less the same for all of the wines. It has a spectacular acid structure, not as creamy as other years, more vertical. Truly outstanding. Drink Date: 2016 - 2024.