The vines in Finca Mirador were planted half in 1928 and half in 1942, the latter pruned double-Guyot. The 2010 Finca Mirador is from the Medrano sub-region, originating from heavier, clayey soils and aged in new French barrels for 16 months. The nose is more expressive than the Finca Bella Vista with cassis and blueberry aromas imbued with a sorbet like freshness and vivacity. After 20 minutes, there is an estuarine, oyster shell scent emerging. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins and a surprising sense of reserve and sophistication that could probably show Bordeaux a few lessons in restraint! It draws you in to its complexity and its precise, delineated finish of black currant pastille, sea salt and crushed stone that lingers long in the mouth. This is an outstanding Argentinean Malbec. Drink 2016-2035. Achaval Ferrer should need no introduction to anyone with a passing interest in Argentinean wine, a paradigm of how far the country has progressed over the last decade. In 2011, founders Santiago Achaval and Manuel Ferrer sold a large percentage of shares to the SPI group that owns Stolichnaya vodka as well as shares in Tenuto d’Ornellaia and Frescobaldi, although both Ferrer and Achaval remain on the managing board. Instead of visiting the winery (which I intend to do in the future), I tasted wines past and present with Santiago in London, where I was afforded more time to plot the wine’s development in the glass. The tasting was no revelation, since I have encountered and appreciated the wines for many years. They are well-crafted, very pure and stylistically equidistant between Old World and New. My reviews will seem meaner and the scores more parsimonious than might be anticipated. It simply reflects where I see the wines in the context of such a comprehensive overview of a dynamic country – great wines for sure and very consistent, but perhaps others have stepped up their game? The older vintages have certainly held up well, although a demanding connoisseur would expect more in the way of secondary aromas and flavors to replace the lost primary ones.Importer: TGIC Imports, Woodland Hills, CA; tel. (818) 225-5100; and Corney & Barrow (UK)

The 2007 Finca Mirador was sourced from a 13-acre parcel in Medrano planted in 1921. The yields for this wine were 0.9 tons per acre with the wine aged for 15 months in new French oak. Purple-colored with a superb display of toasty new oak, lilacs, spice box, black cherry, and black raspberry, on the palate it sports an elegant personality, savory flavors, underlying structure, and a lengthy, 45-second finish. It, too, will drink well from 2013 to 2022. Achaval Ferrer makes my short list of Argentina’s top producers of Malbec. My longevity estimates are conservative because these wines have no track record; my experience with wines this impeccably balanced and rich is that they will continue on for 25 years and more. Let’s hope purchasers can muster the patience to cellar some of these wines for the requisite time. I was also shown barrel samples of Achaval Ferrer’s 2008s. They look to be equally promising.Importer: TGIC Imports, Woodland Hills, CA; tel. (818) 225-5100