I am a big fan of Viña Cobos. The past couple vintages of Chardonnay from this winery have knocked my socks off in terms of quality and price. The Cabernet Sauvignon offers exceptional value and manages to walk a great tightrope of ripe fruit while holding onto a nice acid backbone. These wines are made by Paul Hobbs – who I interviewed last year when I headed down to the Finger Lakes to talk to him about his future winery there – https://andrewinereview.ca/two-guys-talking-wine-episode-51/ . Needless to say Paul is a very busy man, as on top of making wine in Argentina, and California he is also a consulting winemaker at Stratus Vineyards in Niagara.
So, when I was invited for a Viña Cobos dinner there was no way I was going to miss it. The dinner was hosted at One restaurant located in Yorkville. The menu was tailored to match the wines, but the clear highlight with or without food are these wines.
2016 Felino Chardonnay – Vintages 119099 (April 28, 2018) – $19.95 – ****+ – A little bigger and a little fuller than the 2015 vintage, but don’t worry this still has retained a nice acid backbone to keep this in perfect balance. There is nice use of oak with a vanilla note that caresses pineapple, orange, and peach. These flavours unravel on the palate with nice concentration and depth. This wine does finish clean with a lingering note of spice. Coming in under twenty dollars this bottle offers outstanding value and the past releases of this wine don’t last long on the shelves so you should hurry not to pick some up.
2014 Felino Cabernet Sauvignon – Vintages 132365 – $19.95 – **** – This feels like a glass of summer. The rich fruit aromas practically climb out of the glass with aromas of cassis, strawberry, ripe raspberry and notes of smoke. The tannin has nice structure if you decide to hold onto a bottle or two in a cellar, but there is no patience required to enjoy this bottle now. The flavours in this bottle push the line right up to jammy and confectioned but somehow have held onto an ounce of restraint as these flavours are met with nice acidity.
2016 Felino Malbec – Vintages 118067 (August 18, 2018) – $19.95 – **** – In a world where many people expect to spend less than fifteen bucks for a decent bottle of Malbec, I present for you exhibit A in the case to spend a few more bucks on a bottle of wine. The tannin is a little firm, this brings smoke and cocoa layered over the fruit. It doesn’t air long for the fruit to make a dramatic entry as currant, plum and blackberry push through the smoke. This is drinking great now, but something that would benefit from a year in a cellar, and should relax even more with 3-5.
2014 Bramare Valle De Uco Malbec – Vintages 123729 – $44.95 – ****+ – There is something brooding and juicy about this wine right from the onset. The nose offers currant, cherry and raspberry jam. On the palate the flavours match the nose and bring a spice note to the glass. What’s interesting is that all these flavours just linger like a wine soaked dampness that refuses to let go. Each sip of this wine feels like it could last for hours. A perfect match for steak, or great on it’s own.
2013 Bramare Zingaretti Vineyard Malbec – Not Available At LCBO (yet) – $120 (expected) – ****½ – The cocoa note goes from nose to long finish on this bottle. But there is an acidity that keeps this well behaved and somehow restrained. Once you get through the rich cocoa note an endless depth of currant, strawberry, blackberry, cherry and plum bring some serious fruit to the table. The finish on this wine adds some serious spice and smooth tannin. The nicest surprise in my glass is that there is a mineral note that also pokes through on the finish and it keeps a long finish from overstaying its welcome. This is an epic bottle that will easily spend 15- 20 years in a cellar, but if you don’t have patience there should be little regret in opening this now.
