Producer: Trapiche
Name: Terroir Series: Finca Coletto
Vintage: 2018
Grape: Malbec
Country: Argentina
RRP: £30ish
Trapiche has a reputation for making great malbec and this is from the producer's 'Terroir Series', which currently consists of four wines derived from single, high-quality vineyards. Finca Coletto is one of the three malbecs in the series. The Coletto vineyard is in Mendoza at an altitude of 1,127m and the vines are around 60 years old.
I was lucky enough to share a 2004 vintage of what I believe was this wine (it was called 'Vina Victorio Coletto' at the time of bottling) in the summer of 2021. It was so incredibly plush and fine at 17 years old that I couldn't miss buying a few bottles in the January sale at The Great Wine Co., in the hope it'll end up in a similar condition.
The best wines I've ever tasted have been made from syrah/shiraz and like that grape, malbec can be awful if you get the wrong one. Young, cheap examples, in particular, can taste jammy, have an unpleasantly sour aftertaste, and end with huge, aggressive tannins that deliver instant headaches.
Thankfully, Finca Coletto isn't that. There's still plenty of sweet red fruit initially and the 15% alcohol is decidedly noticeable but there's enough acidity to stop the wine from becoming cloying. While enjoyable at four years old, the other two bottles will remain unopened for 8-10 years; the tannins are still very prominent and the hope is that bottle age will soften them. Similarly, time should allow more black fruit and savoury flavours to emerge, with the immediate sweetness taking a back seat.
This is a big, powerful wine and it feels like it has the potential to become something special but it'll take 8-10 years to find out. There are wines that are easier and more pleasurable to drink at this age, so look elsewhere if you want something for now or don't have the means or the patience to keep it.
Verdict: 7/10