El Porvenir Icono 2019 Cafayate, Salta, Argentina 75cl

Icono is the top wine at Bodegas El Porvenir de Cafayate, the bottling the family reserves to show what its highest vineyards in Salta can do. As the name suggests, it is built to be a statement rather than an everyday red, and it sits at the peak of the range.

The fruit comes from the extreme altitude of the Calchaqui Valley around Cafayate, where powerful sunlight and cold nights concentrate colour, flavour and tannin while keeping the wine fresh. This is a wine made for structure and long ageing, given serious time in oak to build its frame.

The 2019 vintage produced ripe, concentrated reds in the region, well suited to a flagship style of this ambition.

Expect a deep, dark red with intense black fruit, spice and a savoury, mineral depth, carried by firm, fine tannins and a long, powerful finish. It is drinking well with air now but has the structure to develop over many years in the cellar, so decant it if you open it young.

Rated 94 points, it belongs on a special table, at its best with roast beef, venison or other rich game. If you enjoy concentrated, age-worthy high-altitude reds, Icono is a wine to cellar and savour, and a fine example of just how serious northern Argentina’s reds have become. Give it a decant of an hour or more if you open it now, and serve it in a large glass so its concentration has room to unfold. Kept somewhere cool and dark, it should keep developing for a good number of years yet.