This red blend begins with lightly earthy, soil notes mixed with ripe blackberry, black cherry, cranberry and black currant notes. It is medium weight with juicy acid and fine tannins. Cocoa powder and smoke add complexity as it turns denser with air.

WINE INFORMATION

Bodegas Fabre was established and is currently being run by Hervé and Diane Joyaux Fabre. Hervé J. Fabre, born in Bordeaux, arrived in Argentina in the early 1990s when Malbec was viewed as a blending partner. Seeing the potential of the Argentine terroir, Hervé bought a number of Argentina’s oldest Malbec vineyards; the oldest being planted in 1908 and in 1992 he built his first winery, Fabre Montmayou, in Luján de Cuyo. He was the first winemaker to produce a single varietal Malbec in Argentina.

Hervé launched Viñalba in 2007 to produce wines with the most esoteric portfolio. More than 80% of all Argentinian wine is produced in Mendoza. Divided in five sub regions, Mendoza features an enviable array of grape varieties, soils and altitudes (from 500 to 1800m above sea level), as well as a very long, dry summers into mild autumn making it a winemaker’s paradise. The Valley de Uco is one of the most exciting regions of Mendoza, with the highest altitude vineyards. This is a relatively new wine-making region with vineyards being planted mostly in 1980’s and onwards.

The soil in this vineyard in Gualtallary was formed during the Quaternary period by alluvial erosion of the Andes Mountains, thus creating poor, stony, and calcareous soils, with good drainage and structure. Gualtallary has a great slope stretching from West to East, which carries water coming from rains and frosts, without affecting the natural quality of grapes. The altitude of Gualtallary provides wide temperature ranges and cooling breezes during the ripening period, extending the growing cycle.

The vines are 45 years old on average for the Malbec and 10 years old for the Cabernet Franc.  The grapes are harvested at the end of March by hand into small trays to avoid bruising the grapes and then meticulously sorted in order to select the best grapes for this wine. 60% of this wine is aged in French oak for 12 months before bottling.

Duck, Grilled preparations, Ham, Hearty stew, Lamb, Mexican, Mushrooms, Pizza, Pork, Red Meat, Roasted Root Vegetables, Sausage, Slow-smoked Barbeque/BBQ Sauce, Wild Game