97 Points Decanter
It's fair to say that no other country delivered value in this year's Decanter World Wine Awards to match that sent over to us from Argentina, and this saturatedly dense, dark Malbec from the prized highlands of Gualtallary makes this point admirably. It's initially beefy and purposeful in aroma, the plum and sloe fruits emerging in purer form with time in the glass or the decanter. There's admirable weight, lyricism and lift to those fruits: Gualtallery is never clumsy. Better still, in place of overt tannins and intrusive acidity there is a kind of sappy, stemmy freshness which combines the function of both texture and acidity -- and that, in fact, is the origin of the fruit's notable energy and charm. Value Best In Show wines rarely exceed the appeal you'll find here."
 
Winemaker Notes
Altosur is 100% estate grown Malbec. Sophenia was a project that was started by two friends in the late 1990s. They named their new project after their daughters (Sophia and Eugenia). They gambled and acquired property in the up and coming, but at the time yet to be proven, Gualtallary valley. Gualtallary has become one of the most exciting regions in the country. Its high elevation vineyards with large diurnal shifts and soils with calcium carbonate have elevated the world's perception of what Malbec can be. The winery has great terroir and access to some of the best minds in the world of wine, they use the consulting winemakers Matias Michelini and Michel Rolland. With all of that going on, it should surprise no one how good this wine is. What is surprising is the cost. This is an incredible value that harkens back to when Malbec first came to everyone's attention, but with the benefit of decades worth of knowledge and innovation in winemaking.