2016 Bodega Norton Privada Family Blend Mendoza Argentina 750 ml

No wine blows by the expectations of an under $30 wine more consistently than Bodega Norton Privada Family Blend. It’s exactly what we—and Wine Access members—look for in a full-bodied red blend that delivers an unbeatable quality-to-price ratio. 

The members who claimed our entire allocation of the last vintage of Privada have been clamoring for the 2016 edition, which delivers dual 93-point scores from James Suckling and Vinous. Our last allocation sold out in under 24 hours, which sent us racing back to the importer to secure another shipment. Don’t miss this new vintage. 

Privada has placed in Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100, and is such a consistent overachiever that our expectations are now sky high—and the wine still manages to wow us every vintage. The 2016 shows a saturated purple-black hue, and gobs of black fruit aromas laced with bittersweet chocolate. On the palate, an explosion of blackberry and currant pivots to notes of savory herbs, licorice, espresso, dusty earth, and mocha notes, before well-integrated tannins lead the long finish.  

Given its provenance and pedigree, there’s no wonder that Privada is such a consistent over-performer. It’s crafted by David Bonomi, who Decanter named one of South America’s Top 10 Winemakers. Bonomi does wonders with Malbec, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon from 50-90-year-old vines, the oldest on the Norton’s Andean foothills estate. Just think about what a comparable old-vine wine from Barossa Valley, California, or the Rhône would cost!

Founded in 1895, Bodega Norton has maintained some of the most coveted plantings of Malbec in all of Mendoza. Perched in the Lujan de Cuyo subzone, Bodega Norton’s old vines are planted between 2,800 and 3,600 feet in elevation. To say that the air here is fresh would be an understatement. Looking out on the snow-capped Andes, gnarled rootstocks sprout leafy canopies and tight-fisted, deeply concentrated clusters of Malbec, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon, the raw ingredients that lead to bold, silken, expressive reds like Privada. 

Under the stewardship of current owner, Michael Halstrick—a member of the Swarovski family—the century-old estate has expanded its holdings and constructed state-of-the-art facilities to usher in unprecedented levels of quality. Privada is exhibit “A.”

The Wine Access members that made this wine a double sell-out last vintage—and a growing group here at Wine Access HQ—are already looking to re-up on Bodega Norton Privada. If that’s you, then have at it. If you’re on the hunt for a blockbuster red for under $25, you can’t do better than this.