LUCA - Malbec - 2016

LUCA

Malbec 2016

- 92 points -

The Luca wines are the passion of Laura Catena, and the name of her son. Laura was instrumental in the push toward making small quantities of terroir-based wine as a natural extension of Catena’s years of research into Mendoza’s high altitude vineyards Uco Valley's La Consulta and Gualtallary. The grapes are hand-harvested, aged 14 months in 35 percent new French oak and 65 percent used barrels. In the super cool year of 2016, it is the floral, mineral highlights that dominate, giving this label a real sense of malbec purity. The tannins are highly refined, dense and sweet, settingthe stage for spicy, coffee, cocoa flecked fruit with terrific acidity. Longer and more linear than in warm years, this bottle is very food-friendly. Think wild game, steak, lamb, and medium-strong cheeses. Good value.

August 2019


About Gismondi on Wine

Anthony Gismondi is one of North America's most influential wine critics. Both a writer and broadcaster he is currently in his 25th year as wine columnist at the Vancouver Sun where his twice weekly wine columns and videos are seen by one million readers a week. His comprehensive and busy wine review websitewww.gismondionwine.com features over 20,000 tasting notes and attracts over a half million visitors a month from some 70 countries. He is also the co-host of the longest running, weekly, wine and food show in Canadian radio: The Best of Food and Wine. The show airs in prime time every Thursday evening from 6-7pm Pacific on CISL 650am.