Kaiken Ultra Mendoza Malbec , 75 cl

Description

Deep, ruby red in colour with violet hues. On the nose, it shows floral and mineral notes, with spicy complexities. The palate shows structure and power, with sweet plum, mocha and black cherry flavours dominating. Oak is well integrated and tannins are soft. Long and polished on the finish. Grapes are sourced from both the Valle de Uco (Vistaflores, Altamira and Gualtallary) and the First Zone (Agrelo, Vistalba) regions of Mendoza. Here, soils are sandy loam, providing ideal conditions for growing Malbec. Plants are trained to the vertical shoot positioning system and yield an average of seven and a half tonnes per hectare. Early frosts in the Mendoza wine region set a challenging 2011 vintage for winemakers. This, coupled with periods of high winds, hail, heavy rains and cooler temperatures delayed the onset of fruit maturation. However, an ‘Indian summer‘ in the immediate lead up to harvest ripened the grapes, resulting in elegant style wines with higher than average acidity. Temperatures over the harvest period fluctuated between 16 and 33 degree C, with harvest running from March to early May. Grapes were all hand harvested into small, 15kg bins and manually sorted before the winemaking process. Once picked, fruit underwent seven days of cold, pre-fermentation maceration at 10 degree C. Alcoholic fermentation lasted for 12 days at temperatures ranging between 25-28 degree C. Malolactic fermentation followed, for a total of 15 days. 80% of the finished wine was then transferred to French oak for 12 months of barrel aging. It comes with the vintage information as follows: Vintage: 2011; Grape varieties: 96% Malbec, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon; Region: Luján de Cuyo, Argentina; Winemaker: Aurelio Montes Baseden; Closure: Natural Cork; Alcohol (ABV): 14.5%; Acidity: 3.65g/l; Residual Sugar: 3.2g/l; Wine pH: 3.71.