2017 Finca Piedra Infinita

They use some specific soils for the 2017 Finca Piedra Infinita, up to eight different plots, but not all plots contribute to the wine every vintage; in general, the zones with 20 to 60 centimeters of soil and then large stones with calcium carbonate are reflected in the wines. So, they deconstruct the vineyard, and then they build the blend with the plots they like for each wine, up to eight here but only a specific one for the Supercal and Gravascal. There's a little more ripeness and exuberance here within the general austerity of the whole Piedra Infinita range, especially when compared with the 2018s. They harvested 15 to 20 days earlier than in 2018 (or in 2016) and they had to run, but the separation they have by soil helped them to harvest earlier the earlier-ripening parts of the vineyard. That gave them a great advantage and they produced very good 2017s, but the condition of the year, a shorter cycle and a more hurried year was what it was. This 2017 is not as long as the 2018, and there is a strong chalkiness in the finish. 7,300 bottles were filled in August 2018.

A Malbec from Paraje Altamira, the grapes selected from vines growing in eight different types of soil at the Finca Piedra Infinita vineyard before half of them were aged in used barrels for 12 months. The measured nose offers an herb, violet and lavender core from which blackberry subsequently emerges. Makes a big entrance with energy and juice before ceding the impetus to a chalkiness that turns the spotlight on the texture sustained by a flavor-enhancing salinity. A long-lasting, profoundly layered wine.

100% Malbec. Pretty gorgeous nose. Really fresh fruit with a presumably concrete-derived texture on the end so it’s not luscious. Edgy and made for food? A bit inky and demanding. A tad too taut and saliva-sucking for current pleasure? (JR)