2018 Tapiz Alta Collection Cabernet Sauvignon San Pablo Vineyard Uco Valley Mendoza 750 ml

Cabernet doesn’t soar much higher than the 2018 Tapiz San Pablo Vineyard. Grown on one of the highest-elevation Cabernet sites in the world, it’s so simultaneously complex and elegant that it ranks among the highest-scoring Argentine Cabs of the vintage. 

At 4430 feet up in Andes foothills, the sustainably farmed San Pablo Vineyard thrives in an area Vinous called a “jewel” of the Uco Valley. This tiny microclimate there boasts some of the region's coolest growing conditions, bringing a striking freshness to balance the ripe, dark fruit born of generous sunshine. 

In a 2018 vintage heralded as one of the Uco Valley’s best in a decade, winemaker Fabián Valenzuela—who has worked the San Pablo land for 20 years—and consultant Jean-Claude Berrouet (known for his work at Bordeaux icon Château Petrus) crafted a stellar 95-point Cabernet whose ruby depths deliver complex aromas of dark berry, violet, and dark chocolate on a rich, multidimensional palate framed by polished tannins. 

95 points. A single estate vineyard. Superstar winemaking. Napa Cabs that boast the same credentials go for $100 or more—yet this Tapiz goes for well below that.

San Pablo’s proximity to the Portillo Ridge refreshes the vineyards there with coolness from the mountains, while the limestone-rich soils evoke elements of brightness. The 2018 vintage was especially kind to the area, blessing it with “nearly ideal growing conditions,” in the words of Wine Spectator. A dry summer with cold nights kept the Cabernet in perfect balance as it ripened. 

Polished by ten months in French and American oak, this is a ticket to a unique corner of Argentine viticulture and one of the region’s finest Cabernets of the vintage.