de angeles Grial Arena (Sand Soil) Malbec 2020

De Angeles

From our Malbec-obsessive friends in Vistalba, here is a unique chance to view this fabulous grape variety truly under the terroir microscope. These vines represent uninterrupted genetic material that pre-dates phylloxera via the practice of mugron, and these particular plants were placed in the ground, un-grafted of course, in 1924. Not satisfied with this incredible story, the guys at De Angeles have taken things a step – or rather four steps – further still. Four specific soil profiles have been identified in the vineyard, and in March 2020 four specific micro-vinifications were undertaken to help explain the fascinating differences. Despite all four of these very limited production wines coming from ‘the same’ vineyard and being made in exactly the same way with no oak at all, it is amazing how very different they are from one another; an experience that requires all four wines to be tasted together. The four soil types are: Arena (sand, 548 bottles produced), Limo (silt, 504 bottles), Piedra (stone, 512 bottles) and Arcilla (clay, 567 bottles).

We talk about regional differences in Malbec from Salta in the north, down through Mendoza and into the deep south of Patagonia, but these wines will have your eyebrows quivering within the confines of a few hectares of single vineyard. It’s all a bit geeky, yes, but an amazing tasting experience, and it took us three years to convince De Angeles to let us have a small allocation of these wines.

This wine, Grial Arena, is probably the most fluid in texture with a broad, ripe nose of wild red fruits and delightfully silky tannins in the mouth.

92 / 100 points, Tim Atkin MW