Finca Mendel Malbec 2022

Finca Mendel Malbec 2022 comes from one of the more historically important vineyard sites in Luján de Cuyo, planted in 1928 in Mayor Drummond on its original ungrafted rootstock. The wine is part of the larger Mendel project founded by Roberto de la Mota and Anabelle Sielecki, a partnership that helped redefine modern Argentine wine away from sheer power and toward vineyard expression and structure. De la Mota, whose family has deep roots in Argentine winemaking, became known for pushing a more restrained and age worthy style of malbec at a time when many producers were leaning heavily into ripeness and new oak. 

The vineyard itself sits at roughly 950 meters elevation in Luján de Cuyo, where warm daytime sun is tempered by cool Andean nights. Those old vines naturally produce very small yields and concentrated fruit, but the defining character here is not excess. Finca Mendel tends to show a firmer, more mineral expression of malbec, shaped as much by vine age and soil as by fruit intensity. Compared with many Mendoza malbecs, the wine consistently leans darker, more savory, and more structured.

In the cellar, the fruit is hand harvested and fermented in small tanks with careful extraction to preserve both aromatic detail and tannic precision. The 2022 spent around a year in French oak barrels, using a mix of first, second, and third fill wood to build texture without overwhelming the vineyard character. The élevage gives the wine depth and polish while still allowing the old vine fruit and graphite like minerality to remain front and center.

The 2022 opens with blackberry, black plum, violet, and dark cherry layered alongside espresso, graphite, mint, and dried herbs. There is real concentration here, but also tension and freshness beneath the weight. The tannins are fine grained and firm rather than plush, carrying through a long savory finish that feels much closer to a structured old world red than the softer, sweeter style many people associate with Argentine malbec.