Kaiken Clásico Malbec

• Vintage: 2020
• Origin: Mendoza, Argentina
• Taste Guide: Medium-full bodied and part (40%) oaked. This Malbec is deep purple in colour. On the nose there are aromas of red fruits such as plums and blackberries, complemented by notes of chocolate and tobacco. On the palate this wine displays extraordinary balance, freshness and soft tannins.
• Food pairing: Meat stew, lamb shank and roast dinners. Meat cooked on the grill/BBQ would also pair well.

• 75cl - 14% - Screwcap Opening
• Stained Labels
• Superb score on 11.5k in ratings on Vivino.com

The Kaiken Clásico Malbec is a smooth, full-bodied red wine from the Andes mountains. The grapes come from vineyards in the Agrelo zone, 60 kilometres from the city of Mendoza and at an altitude of 950 metres above sea level. The region’s climate is warmer than that of the Uco Valley, which allows Kaiken to obtain grapes with more fresh fruit aromas and flavours as well as very ripe, soft tannins. The grapes were hand picked and sorted, and then cold soaked for seven days to extract aroma and colour. Following fermentation, 40% of the wine was transferred into French oak barrels for six months, of which 10% were new and the rest second and third use. The rest of the wine was unoaked to retain the fruit flavours and aromas in the finished wine. The wine was naturally fined and gently filtered before bottling.

Priced at £8.99 - £11.50 on other sites and not available in UK supermarkets, just £8.25 a bottle here - albeit with stained labels.