Alamos Cabernet Sauvignon

Alamos Cabernet is a wine that has been nurtured on sunlight, cold nights and mineral-rich water from the snow-capped Andes Mountains. It's a fantastic little "high altitude" wine that has been well-regarded for years due to its quality and good price. It derives its name from the poplar trees which shield the vineyards from the high mountain winds and pays homage to those massive peaks and the mountain climate. It's specifically from the altitude at which the winery's vineyards are located, between 900 and 1,500 m, that its remarkable acidity emanates.

If you hadn't seen its label, Alamos would tempt you to take a trip round the wine-growing world before discovering what's written on it. On entry, you would probably deduce its South American roots but as likely as not presume the Malbec variety. You might not be surprised either to be told that it's a Catena Zapata wine, sensing the stamp of this magnificent winery. Yet could you be sure? Not at all, because Argentinian wines usually present us with very ripe fruit, a warm background, and a very fresh wine in our glass. So could it be a Spanish wine? The aromatic plant notes might remind us of certain Monastrell wines. Perhaps French, because of the grape's character? Even so, we'd rule out Bordeaux because of the dark nuances, of pepper and tar. Lost? We've been around the world and decided to go with our first impression. Sure enough, a junior member of the Catena wine family, one of the most highly-rated Argentinian wines in this price range... and definitely superior.

Alamos is not a grand wine, and we wouldn't expect it to be at this price, but it rightly deserves our appreciation for the enjoyment it gives. It's serious and intense, notably fruit-forward, particularly rich in black fruit (blackberries and black cherries), with plenty of refreshing notes (pepper, pine, thyme...), hints of leather, a subtly dry background (smoke), and some earthy touches and suggestions of gunpowder, although it couldn't be considered a mineral wine. It's mature, juicy, balanced and remarkable for its freshness, that good acidity which will ensure a favourable evolution, but don't wait: Alamos Cabernet is best enjoyed in its youth.