A wine you can really sink your teeth into! We check out the latest vintage of the deep, dark and absolutely delicious El Enemigo Cabernet Franc, available at a great Costco price.
92% Cabernet Franc and 8% Malbec from vineyards at around 4,700 feet of elevation in Gualtallary, Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina. The wine spends 16 months in French oak, 20% new, and has just 1.65 g/L of residual sugar.
Once again, we found the El Enemigo Cabernet Franc for $19.99 at Costco while the average price on wine-searcher is quite a bit more at $28.
The estate is owned by Alejandro Vigil (who also makes the wine) and Adrianna Catena. It is imported by Winebow Inc.
El Enemigo The Enemy Cabernet Franc.
At the end of the journey, we remember only one battle: the one we fought against ourselves, the original enemy. The one that defined us.
13.5% Alcohol
As we've noted many times in the past, Argentina is about much more than Malbec. And one of the more exciting varietals coming out of this region currently is Cabernet Franc, a variety that we love. We've got a number of exceptional examples in our list of the best Cabernet Franc.
Today, however, is a bottle that without Costco's low price wouldn't normally fall within our price range. Sure, it's still just a penny under our limit, but it's worth every one of those pennies in our opinion. And in fact, this latest vintage (2018) is even better than the last time we tried it (the 2015).
The 2018 El Enemigo Cabernet Franc begins with a serious, but very attractive aroma of red cherry and dark berry fruit, herbs (but no green pepper), cedar, leather, black pepper, spice and a hint of crushed rock.
Tasting reveals a deep, dark and absolutely delicious wine especially after a couple hours of air. Savory, ripe, juicy and fresh the wine features similar flavors to the nose plus chocolate, a little earthiness, touches of tobacco and vanilla and a burst of black pepper notes on the mid-palate.
It ends very long and juicy on the dry, chewy finish that also features the return of that crushed rock/mineral hint from the nose. The wine was even a bit better on day two. This is excellent!
2018 El Enemigo Cabernet Franc
And here's our previous review of the 2015 vintage:
The 2015 El Enemigo Cabernet Franc begins with a serious, but very attractive aroma of red cherry and dark berry fruit, herbs (but no green pepper), cedar, leather and spice.
Tasting reveals a deep, dark and absolutely delicious wine especially after a couple hours of air. In the mouth you'll find similar flavors to the nose plus chocolate, a little earthiness, touches of tobacco and vanilla and a burst of black pepper notes that lead into the long, dry, chewy finish.
You may also want to check out more of our favorite wines from Argentina here.
