Kaiken Ultra Malbec 2019 75 cl.

Ultra Malbec is made from 100% Malbec grapes from 3 selected vineyards in the Uco Valley, all of which are above 1,000 meters above sea level: Los Chacayes and Gualtallary (1,300 m.a.s.l.) and Altamira (1,100 m.a.s.l.). Despite the altitude, the soil on all three fields consists of deposits, with a mixture of sand and limestone, which provides good drainage and abundant water reserves in depth. The difference in altitude and soil composition means a diversity that allows for a rare harmony in the wine. In addition, the more than 50-year-old vines provide a concentration and complexity that is evident in both aroma and taste.

The harvest takes place manually with strict sorting both at picking and on arrival at the cellar. The fermentation takes place in smaller tanks, so that the must from the different parcels can be fermented separately and reproduce their own character. The wines then undergo a malolactic fermentation and a maturation for 12 months, 1/3 of the wine in new wooden barrels and the rest in 1-3 year old wooden barrels. The blending, followed by a natural sedimentation and a light filtration takes place immediately before bottling. The wine matures in bottle for a further 6 months.

The wine has an intense, ruby red color with a purple edge. The aroma is dominated by dark berries such as blueberries and blackberries, but also ripe plums and spicy notes of rosemary and black pepper. In the taste you find the character of dark fruit, chocolate, tobacco and vanilla as well as Uco Valley’s classic crispness and structure. A wine in great balance, with an excellent and long aftertaste. Serve it with red and light meat and with creamy cheeses. Give the wine a little oxygen before serving.

In 2001, Aurelio Montes, who had put Chile on the vinous world map in terms of quality wine, took the trip across the Andes and founded the winery “Kaiken” in Mendoza, Argentina. The ambition was to combine the tireless focus on quality that had taken the Montes wines in Chile into a class of their own, with the unique terroir of Argentina, thus uniting the best of both countries. The name “Kaiken” was chosen as it is also the name of a local wild goose, which symbolically (also) makes a cross-border and challenging “journey” across the Andes between the two countries.

Winemaker Aurelio Montes has always believed that 80% of a good wine is based on the nature of the vineyards and the work that is carried out in them, whereas only 20% can be attributed to the work in the cellar, and at Kaiken this has meant that one has begun a process where biodynamics and sustainability play a far greater role.

“Working with the biodynamic principles in the field makes you more human. You can be 100% organic and still function like a computer” – Aurelio Montes.