2001 Cheval des Andes

(a blend of 58% cabernet sauvignon, 40% malbec and 2% petit verdot; aged 18 months in all new French oak) Ruby-red. Complex, very ripe nose melds blackcurrant, cherry, cocoa powder, truffle and smoked meat. Ripe, lush, round and seamless; wonderfully plump in the middle but not at all overly sweet. In fact, this is classically dry and very young, finishing with substantial dusty tannins. From a vineyard in the Vistalba district of Mendoza. Production of Cheval des Andes is about 2,000 cases per year, about the same as each Afincado bottling.