"Smoky raspberries and blueberries with dried licorice, tar and some sweet spices and praline. A medium-bodied red, but quite compact and tight, filled with silky, frosted tannins that knit with the fruit. A nimble malbec with berry fruit at the end. Vegan. Drink or hold."

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"Suitably intense and dark in colour, Signature is made with a combination of Malbec and 6% Cabernet Franc from some of Susana Balbo’s chalkiest parcels in Paraje Altamira. Subtle, refined and understated, with chalky freshness, redcurrant and black cherry flavours and top notes of mint and cut grass. 2024-32"

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"A red with blackberry and blueberry aromas. Hints of tar. Medium body. Very fine tannins. Shows a pretty, chocolate and hazelnut aftertaste. Drink or hold."

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"The 2018 Susana Balbo Signature Malbec shows superbly; it's aromatic, expressive and open, combining floral and spicy notes and with a medium-bodied palate and very fine tannins. The Malbec from Altamira was combined with some 8% Cabernet Franc, and the two varieties seem to work very well together and complement each other. 145,000 bottles produced."

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"Notes of black olive accent the dark currant, tar and dried blackberry flavors, featuring vibrant mineral hints. The firm, savory finish lingers with slate elements. Drink now through 2024. 8,000 cases made, 6,800 cases imported."

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"Notes of black olive accent the dark currant, tar and dried blackberry flavors, featuring vibrant mineral hints. The firm, savory finish lingers with slate elements. Drink now through 2024. 8,000 cases made, 6,800 cases imported."

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"Bright ruby-red. More medicinal on the nose than the Signature Cabernet, showing slightly reduced aromas of black cherry and dark chocolate. Very intense and alive, with surprising acidity and sexy chalky mineral lift giving the wine terrific inner-mouth tension (the pH of this Altamira wine is a moderate 3.5--lower than that of the Cabernet Sauvignon). Finishes with suave, broad tannins and touch of charcoal. This sexy wine should age gracefully and is a splendid value. (aged for 13 months in 30% new and 70% used French oak)"

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"Pretty cabernet with blackcurrant and green-tea aromas and flavors. Medium body. Hazelnut, dried-flower and cedar undertones. Fine finish. Racy. Drink or hold."

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"Crunchy red, with zesty red fruit flavors that are backed by fresh acidity. Dried raspberry and sandalwood on the finish. Drink now. 4,300 cases imported.  WEB ONLY"

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"Sweet berry aromas of blueberry and blackberry are a touch oaky and suggestive of graphite. A plump but pulling palate is quite dry and tannic, but not mean or raw. Savory plum and berry flavors include a hint of soy sauce, while this is flush on the finish. Folio Fine Wine Partners. —"

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"Bright, saturated medium ruby. Violet-tinged nose displays the enticing floral character of the better wines from the 2016 vintage. Vinous and intense, offering serious penetration without hardness. This sexy, juicy wine conveys excellent focus to its dark berry and floral flavors, not to mention very good integration of oak, with the small Petit Verdot component contributing lift. More about definition and balance than size. Balbo routinely picks this fruit on the early side to avoid getting an excessively high pH (it's normally in the range of 3.5 to 3.65 and this one is 3.65, with a moderate 13.6% alcohol)."

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"A very enticing nose of pure violets, dark-jet licorice, crushed stones, moss, ripe stems, earth and forest floor. The palate shows chewy yet compact tannins, lots of tangy blue fruit and a chewy finish. Drink in 2021."

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"The style of the 2016 Susana Balbo Signature Malbec shows the hand of the winemaker, with a little warmer fermentation and perhaps a little more extraction. However, in the cooler and wetter 2016, this feels as fresh and floral as the BenMarco Malbec, and it has a polished and balanced palate, with some fine-grained tannins and clean, pure flavors. Precise, focused and fresh. 100,000 bottles produced."

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"Bright red-ruby. Lively dark scents of blackberry, cassis, black cherry and violet. Suave and fine-grained but quite dry, showing moderate depth and medium body to its dark berry and licorice flavors. Finishes with dusty but essentially smooth tongue-coating tannins and decent length."

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""Big and rich, with balanced and well-structured flavors of raspberry, dark plum and currant that feature plenty of refined savory accents. Hints of mineral and smoke show on the finish.""

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"Aromas of oyster shell and iodine with lots of dark fruits. Full body, mushroom and berry character. Flavorful finish. Different profile for malbec. Drink or hold."

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"The stony soils of Altamira, high into the Andes, often produce austere wines, as if imbued with a cold mountain breeze. This malbec demonstrates that austerity, the flavors walled off by monolithic tannins. Little by little, the wine shows its notes of violets and red cherries, as well as a delicious layer of spices and herbs. Still very young, it needs five years in the bottle."

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"(from sandy, stony, limestone soil in Altamira; aged in 60% new oak): Bright ruby-red. Very pure, vibrant aromas of blackberry, licorice and flowers, plus a complementary whiff of musky oak. Tightly wound, intense and fine-grained, conveying lovely vinosity to the firm dark fruit flavors. Finishes with firm but smooth tannins, excellent length and no rough edges. This wine and the Ben Marco Malbec, also made by under the direction of Susana Balbo, came from reasonable crop levels of about eight tons per hectare."

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"The 2014 Susana Balbo Signature Malbec is sourced from the same vineyard in Altamira where the Torrontés vines are planted, the Finca la Delfina. It contains some 5% of Petit Verdot grapes. It was kept with lees that were occasionally stirred and it matured in French barriques, 30% of them new, for 13 months. They have reduced the oak drastically, and the wine shows purer, fresher and subtler, finely nuanced. The ripeness is contained, it also shows a little less alcohol as it was harvested a little earlier and with more acidity. There is always a note of mint in the wine produced from this vineyard. I very much like this new direction. 80,000 bottles produced."

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"A generous and rich red with lots of blackberry and spice character. Hints of green pepper and spice. Full body, round tannins and a flavorful finish. Malbec with a touch of petit verdot. Drink now."

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