2018 Trapiche Terroir Series Finca Orellana Malbec Mendoza 6pk 6x750ml

Trapiche has been producing wine in Argentina since 1883, when Tiburcio Benegas bought property in Mendoza containing a small vineyard he named El Trapiche. By the time of his death in 1908, he'd grown it to 6,653 hectares.

Today, Trapiche is the largest producer of wine in Argentina and a two-time winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition Argentine Wine Producer of the Year award. Chief Winemaker Daniel Pi has been at the helm since 2002, and in 2003 he helped implement grower relationships that laid the foundation for the Terroir Series.

The Terroir Series celebrates the approach each grower takes to the same raw materials in different parts of Mendoza's growing region. By 2012, the top plots emerged distinctly: Coletto, Orellana, and Ambrosia. This is Orellana — 100 percent Malbec from the San Carlos zone of the Uco Valley, 18.6 miles south of Coletto at 3,247 feet above sea level, with vines planted in sandy soils over a base of gravel.

Orellana is a denser, fuller-bodied expression of Malbec, with high concentration of plum and cherry fruit accompanied by sweeter spices. The wine is produced through spontaneous fermentation and spends 18 months in new French oak. Deep garnet in the glass, with aromas of red berries like cherries and black currants, intense balsamic notes that evoke fresh herbs, licorice, and blackberries. Sweet and ample on the attack with great fruit concentration, soft and ripe tannins, and a lengthy, persistent, elegant finish.

This is serious Malbec from a grower plot that earned its place in Trapiche's top tier. For the price of a forgettable restaurant pour, you're getting the kind of depth and structure Uco Valley does best — the high-altitude concentration without the high-altitude price tag.