Another French Connection: Bodegas Poesia Malbec Clos Des Andes 2001, Mendoza

Once again a French Connection Wine. I guess there are quite a few of these on my blog. This time, the first time, it is an Argentinean-Bordelaise-Connection with an aged Malbec from Mendoza. In the 1990s the Garcin family, known for wines like Clos L’Eglise from Pomerol or Chateau Haut-Bergey in Pessac-Leognan, established a boutique winery in Mendoza with the aim to produce wines which reflect the specific terroir of the mountainous, sometimes very gaunt'ish, and not so popular regions of Mendoza. My wine was the 100% Malbec (over 60 year old vines) named Clos des Andes from 2001 with just 12,5%. I guess something which isn’t that easy to find these days ;-)

The colour of this unusual Malbec was, like expected, dark-red, but not as brown’ish as one might expect it to be. The particles situation was very distinct and heavy. Further on, the nose was blessed by sophisticated and not really so typical, for Argentinean Malbec wines (as far as my limited experience was able to provide me with knowledge), scents of very expressive violets, undergrowth, some charcoal, mild dark cherries and plums which ignited some diffuse aristocratic Bordalais’ish feelings. Well, forget the last part of the previous sentence. Short: the nose was very French, very Bordeaux Blend (with higher Malbec share, Chateau Bel Air La Royère or stuff). Nothing like all the Malbec wines I had so far from Mendoza. My palatal impression was very smooth and silky. Maybe even a bit too silky. A slight over ageing situation! But still very enjoyable! I did not get too many fruitful flavours. Besides some dark cherries I was able to spot some typical flavours of juicy plums and an overall reserved fruit sweetness. Flavours of tobacco, mushrooms / mushroom dishes, fresh and moist earth, gentle smoke and lorry loads of dark demi-bitter choco were far more present than the fruit characteristics. The body seemed appropriately concentrated and equipped with a, for me, very unusual lean and elegant style. In short: No squaller, no bodybuilder, no sweet’ish alcohol monster – a noble wine, Old-Money-Style of French aristocracy, really enjoyable, but rather exceptional! Only the age seemed to complicate the overall picture a bit (maybe a storage problem). One or two years ago, this wine would have been a grand expirience!