Finca Sophenia Reserve Merlot 2009 Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina 75cl

Finca Sophenia is based in Tupungato, in the high Uco Valley, where altitude gives the wines freshness and definition. Its Reserve tier is the dependable, food-friendly heart of the portfolio, made to show the estate’s fruit at a fair price.

This Merlot comes from those high-lying Tupungato vineyards, where cool nights help the grape keep its structure and aromatic lift rather than turning soft and jammy. It was made as an approachable, classically styled red rather than a blockbuster, the sort of Merlot built around balance.

The standout here is the vintage. With the 2009 now well over a decade old, this is firmly a mature wine, and it should be enjoyed for the developed character that only bottle age brings rather than for youthful fruit. It is drinking in its later window and is best opened now.

Expect aromas and flavours of dried plum, tobacco and cedar, with the fruit turned savoury and the tannins soft and fully resolved. The finish is gentle and lingering, the hallmark of a red that has been given time to settle. Serve at cool room temperature; older wines rarely need a long decant.

This is one for drinkers who enjoy older, secondary flavours rather than bright primary fruit. Open it with roast lamb, slow-cooked beef, game or mushroom dishes, and drink it now while it is showing its mellow, settled best. A characterful choice for a quiet, considered dinner. For anyone who has not tried an older Argentine red, it is an affordable way to see what a little bottle age can bring.