2013 Mendel Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza

2013 Mendel Cabernet Sauvignon — The 93-Point Makeup

Our lunch with Anabelle Sielecki was almost everything we’d hoped for. The proprietress of what most believe to be Argentina’s greatest boutique estate is brilliant, elegant, and charmingly self-effacing. She described the path that took her family from Nazi-occupied Poland to Buenos Aires, and from Buenos Aires to the high ground of Mendoza. She went on quietly, explaining why she and her brothers had named their winery “Mendel,” in honor of the father who had come to South America with nothing but his name, passing away 50 years later as one of the country’s industrialist giants.

If you’re planning a trip to Buenos Aires and can carve out the time to hop a flight for Mendoza, give us a holler. As long as it’s not during harvest, we’ll do everything possible to set up a tour and tasting at Mendel, so you gain a first-hand understanding of The Wine Advocate’s #1 $20 Cabernet Sauvignon of the Year!

The climate is high desert. It rains rarely, but when it does — trust us on this — it comes down by the bucketful, sometimes turning to hail the size of Little League baseballs. Mendel’s old vineyards were planted by Anabelle’s father in the 1930s. Their deep root structure, spidering through light sand and gravel, seeks out spring water reserves in the substrata, helping the ancient vines fend off hydric stress during the arid summers. Daily temperatures before harvest might touch 90, only to drop precipitously overnight. Internationally acclaimed winemaker and partner Roberto de la Mota explained that it’s this radical diurnal temperature change that allows the old vines to push out less than 2 tons per acre of terrifically concentrated, small-cluster fruit — BB-sized berries of particularly high skin-to-juice ratio — helping to explaining both the luscious, juicy core and sturdy tannin structure of the 2013 Mendel Cabernet Sauvignon.

The 2013 Mendel Cabernet Sauvignon is opaque purple in color. Voluptuous aromatically, featuring a muscular mix of crushed blackberry, mountain blueberry, and black currant, subtly bracketed by new-wood cedar. Rich, dense, and brawny on entry, filled with blackberry jam, finishing with excellent cut and vibrancy, speaking to the 40-degree diurnal temperature shift.

93 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. $30 on release. Just $20/bottle this morning. 840 bottles are up for grabs. Shipping included on 6.

• ABV 14.50%
• Enjoy right away
• % Cabernet Sauvignon