Bodegas Caro ‘Caro’ 2021 Mendoza, Argentina 75cl

Bodegas Caro was born in 1999 from an alliance between two great wine families, the Rothschilds of Château Lafite in Bordeaux and the Catenas of Mendoza. Since 2003 the wines have been made in a historic exposed-brick winery in the city of Mendoza, marrying French blending expertise with Argentine terroir.

Caro is the flagship, a blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon that sets Argentina’s signature grape against Bordeaux’s most famous variety. The fruit comes from high-altitude vineyards in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, and the wine is matured for around eighteen months in French oak, much of it new and coopered by the Rothschild cellars.

The 2021 season across Mendoza was on the cooler, slower side, a style of year that tends to favour freshness, fine tannins and balance over sheer power. In a wine like Caro that translates into elegance and structure, with the exact blend adjusted each year to suit the season.

Expect a deep, dark wine with aromas of blackberry, cassis and plum lifted by violets, cedar and sweet spice from oak. The palate is full-bodied and refined, its ripe fruit carried by firm, polished tannins and fresh acidity to a long finish. Made to reward cellaring, so decant if drinking now.

One of Argentina’s benchmark fine reds, and a fascinating bridge between Old World and New. For lovers of both Bordeaux and Argentine Malbec, it offers the best of each. Serve it with roast lamb, grilled beef or aged hard cheeses, or lay it down with confidence for several years yet.