Marcelo Pelleriti Seleccion Blend of Terroir 2019 Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina 75cl

Marcelo Pelleriti divides his winemaking between Mendoza and Bordeaux, and that dual career gives his wines a distinctive balance of Argentine ripeness and French restraint. His own-name range is where he expresses that philosophy most freely, and the Seleccion Blend sits near its heart.

This is a blend of terroirs from the Uco Valley, drawing Malbec from several high-altitude parcels around La Consulta, Altamira and Agrelo, with a little Cabernet Franc co-fermented in for lift and grip. Bringing together fruit from different sites is the whole idea, each parcel adding its own note to the finished wine.

The 2019 vintage was warm and well regarded in Mendoza, giving ripe, healthy fruit with good depth. The wine was aged for around eighteen months in French oak, which supports the structure and adds a fine, savoury edge, while the range of altitudes keeps the whole feeling fresh rather than heavy.

Aromatically it opens with floral notes over a subtle, earthy minerality, leading to a palate of red and dark fruit with real freshness and texture. The tannins are complex and refined and the finish is long and balanced, with a savoury, mineral edge that keeps it fresh. Decant it and match with grilled red meat, a rich beef stew or a hard mountain cheese.

If you want to see what Argentine Malbec can do when it is blended and handled with a Bordeaux eye, this is a fine example. It is polished, ageworthy and expressive of its high-altitude home, and rewards a decant before it reaches the table.