Bodegas Caro ‘Caro’ Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2018 Mendoza, Argentina 75cl

Bodegas Caro is the joint venture between Domaines Barons de Rothschild, of Chateau Lafite, and the Catena family, one of Argentina’s founding names in fine wine. Caro is its flagship, a wine designed to marry French winemaking discipline with the character of Mendoza fruit.

The blend joins Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, the pairing at the centre of the project. Cabernet supplies structure, cassis and a firm frame, while Malbec fills the middle with dark, supple fruit and a sense of place. It is a deliberately restrained, elegant style rather than a blockbuster, and that balance is the whole point of the partnership.

The 2018 vintage in Mendoza is well regarded for balanced, expressive reds, and Caro reflects that poise, combining ripeness with freshness and fine detail.

Expect complete, layered aromas of blackcurrant, sweet tobacco and a subtle mineral, savoury note, following through to a medium to full body with fine, linear tannins. It is polished and approachable now but has the structure to reward several years in the cellar, and it opens beautifully with air, so decant it if you can.

Rated 97 points, this is a wine for a special table, at its best with prime beef, rack of lamb or mature cheese. If you enjoy classic Bordeaux, Caro offers that sensibility through an Argentine lens, and makes a fine introduction to the country’s more serious, cellar-worthy reds. At a modest 13% it stays fresh and dinner-friendly rather than heavy, and a bottle or two laid down should continue to gain complexity over the coming years.