2018 Kaiken Terroir Series Malbec Los Chacayes Mendoza 750 ml

When legendary Chilean winemaker Aurelio Montes crossed the Andes into Argentina, he wasn’t going in search of cheap land or a vacation home. He was looking for Malbec’s promised land. 

And he found it in Los Chacayes. So Montes staked out land in this tiny and prestigious sub-region of the Uco Valley, including the high-elevation vineyards that produced this bright, powerful 92-point 2018 Kaiken Terroir Series. 

France might be Malbec’s ancestral home, but Argentina made it a star. In the Uco Valley, producers harnessed soaring vineyard sites, abundant sunlight, and cool breezes from the snow-capped mountains to produce the world’s most succulent, fruit driven, and beautifully balanced renditions.  

This is Argentine Malbec through and through. A sip reveals lush, seductive black fruit, accompanied by subtle graphite and spice. 15% Bonarda (another Argentine specialty) intensifies the fruit vibrancy, while 5% Petit Verdot contributes body and rich tannins. 

It’s a classic from Montes, the South American master who, according to the Wine Advocate, “set the bar for what can be achieved in Chile,” before taking his talents east to start Kaiken. He brought along his playbook for intense reds and established what Wine Enthusiast called “a symbol of high quality in Argentina’s wine industry.”

His vines in Los Chacayes are rooted in poor, rocky soils at up to 4100 feet of elevation where they struggle to find nutrients, yielding Malbec of intense concentration. For this 2018, he blended in fruit from a high-elevation site in neighboring Luján de Cuyo, where huge diurnal temperature shifts produce grapes of bold flavor and striking acidity.

Aging in 33% new French oak for 10 months brought it all together in a polished and complex bottle.