2009 Yacochuya

This is really rich and decadent with lots of earthy, spicy, meaty character plus ripe fruit. Yet it shows a pretty softness and silky texture. Very beautiful. Drink now or hold. Nov 2015, www.jamessuckling.com

The contrast between the 2010 and 2009 vintages is quite noticeable. The 2009 Yacochuya is very ripe, with aromas of prunes and black cherries in liqueur and something organic and peat-like. It needs a little bit of time to breath in the glass as it shows some initial reduction. In the mouth it was very spicy with hints of cooked berries, ink and hints of cured meat. The palate is huge, dense and very ripe with masses of tannin and a slightly sweet finish. It feels like 2009 was a much warmer vintage than 2010 and the wine shows it, which is how it should be. Looking at the data, the wine has an incredible 16.1% alcohol and still has some four grams of unfermented residual sugar, with moderate acidity (pH 3.8). Clearly it is not a wine for that faint of heart and it needs very powerful food. An extreme red, for fans of the style. 23,800 bottles produced. Aug 2015, www.robertparker.com

(malbec grown at an altitude of 6,500 feet; 16.1% alcohol; aged for 12 months in 60% new French oak): Bright ruby-red. Exotic blackberry, molten chocolate, coffee and a wild whiff of game on the nose; just short of raisiny. Silky-sweet, round and fat, with an utterly seamless texture in light of the wine's very high alcohol. Just enough acidity here to give shape to the rich blackberry and chocolate flavors. Finishes with sweet, even tannins and palate-saturating length. This bruiser lacks finesse but will have its admirers. I'm not sure where it can go in the bottle. Enologist Michel Rolland makes this wine with the Etchart family. (Incidentally, two samples of the 2006 premium wine, called simply Yacochuya, were too pruney and high-toned to recommend, in spite of their huge chocolatey richness.) Mar 2012, www.vinous.com