2018 PerSe Iubileus Malbec Gualtallary Mendoza

Since 2017, this wine has been produced with Malbec from very young vines planted in 2013 on limestone-rich soils in their own vineyard in the Gualtallary Monastery, from a part with a little more topsoil but still very rich in limestone where they never used herbicides and is organically farmed but not certified. The 2018 Iubileus fermented in used rolling barrels with indigenous yeasts with a maceration of 30 days and matured in used barriques for 16 months. This year, the Iubileus is unusually tight, especially aromatically, and the wine needed time in the glass (or a decanter) to open up but remained with a serious and austere personality. The palate is tremendously chalky, almost powdery, with very fine tannins, fine-grained and finer than those from the Volare del Camino, with less fruit and more soil. This is rather impressive, serious and mineral, with long aging potential. It continues the path started in 2017, a wine with filigree and finesse, a very elegant and subtle vintage for Iubileus with no heat or excess ripeness but with grapes that developed fully, and the depth of aromas and flavors is breathtaking.

It's amazing to think that this stunning Malbec comes from five-year-old vines - just imagine how good the vineyard will be in another decade or two - but this is a remarkable highaltitude site. Subtle, refined and wonderfully scented, with polished tannins, chalky intensity and zesty, almost mouth-watering finish. Malbec doesn't get much better than this. 2022-30.