Santa Julia Reserva Mountain Blend – Much More Than Malbec

A Bulk Buy rating on a red blend done right!

70% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Franc from Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina. The Santa Julia Reserva Mountain Blend spends 10 months in French oak barrels and has a residual sugar of 2.5g/L.

The wine has an SRP of $13 and is available for as low as $10 on Wine-Searcher. 75,000 bottles produced. Imported by Winesellers LTD. Sample submitted for review.

From the bottle:

The Malbec and Cabernet Franc grapes for this Santa Julia Reserva Mountain Blend are sourced from Uco Valley vineyards, planted at elevations between 3,130 and 4,600 ft above sea level. This astonishing terroir provides excellent conditions for producing wines that stand out for their concentration of aromas and flavors.

This blend is a full body red wine, with red plum, dark fruit and spice notes. Our passion for wine was born more than 50 years ago when my grandfather planted his first vineyards in Mendoza. Since, we aim to produce wines that express the uniqueness of our region with respect for the environment. – Julia Zuccardi.

14% Alcohol

One of my favorite aspects of a good red blend is finding the unexpected. Let’s face it, a lot of mass market red blends are simply boring. Overly sweet with lots of artificial oak flavor, they’re certainly drinkable, but hardly fulfilling. There are; however, plenty of red blends that break out of this mold. Today we have the perfect example that uses a blend you don’t often see – Malbec and Cabernet Franc.

The 2016 Santa Julia Reserva Mountain Blend begins with pleasing aromas of plum, a little cranberry, blueberry and lovely floral and spice notes with a hint of vanilla. The wine tastes even better than it smells with tons of fresh dark fruit imbued with spice and coffee notes and wrapped up in a smooth, velvety and delicious texture. I absolutely love this combination of grapes with the Cabernet Franc adding a great earthy dimension to the fruit from the Malbec. The coffee and spice notes come to the front on the earthy finish that features more dark, juicy fruit and even some mineral notes.

This one is a shoo-in for our list of the best wines from Argentina!

See a listing of local retailers selling the Santa Julia Reserva Mountain Blend here.