Plaza de Grillos, Malbec Gran Reserva 2016

Plaza de Grillos was founded by award-winning winemaker, Cristian Caccamo, who wanted to shine a spotlight on boutique winemaking in his native Mendoza. Focusing only on Malbec, Cristian is all about quality over quantity and that mentality certainly comes through in his wine. And in his true quirky nature, he named his winery (and commissioned the label artwork) for the crickets which inhabit the foothills of the Andes where his vineyards sit. Gran Reserva 2016 is a stunning 100% Malbec taken from some of the best high altitude (1100m) sites in the Vista Flores, Uco Valley, in what was one of the best recent vintages for the region. The grapes were hand-harvested, fermented and aged for 12 months in French oak barrels prior to release. Supremely elegant, sophisticated and refined, it has a nose of black plum, cherry, tobacco, vanilla and violet. The palate is starting to nicely mellow out, but is nevertheless rich & rounded. The perfect steak wine.