2015 Vina Cobos Malbec Chanares Estate
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
From Los Arboles. Debut vintage. Brand new vineyard, half planted in 2010, at 1,184 m. Paul Hobbs bought it in 2013 and planted the other half. Looking for where he would make his next single-vineyard Malbec when his other vines got too old. Hint of char on the nose. Much fresher on the nose than it smells. Finishes dry. Just a little foxglove aroma. Chewy end. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Now the top of the range, the 2015 Cobos Malbec Chañares Estate is produced with grapes grown in their young vineyard in Los Árboles in Tunuyán. This comes from the oldest plot in the vineyard, a block that was already planted when they bought the estate. These vines were planted in 2007, yet the wine has remarkable complexity and depth for such young vines. This is a wine that marks a new era in the Viña Cobos history, with more weight from the Valle de Uco and less intervention in the winery, and it has more freshness and transparency and less new oak. In this second vintage, they also reduced the number of new barrels used for the élevage to 85% (and it might be lower in the future), which I believe helps to preserve the character of the wine. Even if it's generously oaked, it feels quite serious and balanced, without any sweetness. It has a dry palate with fine-grained, elegant tannins and a long, tasty, somewhat mineral finish. It should develop nicely in bottle. 3,840 bottles produced.
About the producer
Viña Cobos is a pioneering producer in Mendoza, known for being the first Argentinian estate to produce a 100-point wine. Founded and run by star California winemaker Paul Hobbs, Viña Cobos has been instrumental in raising the profile of fine wine in Argentina.