Wine Advocate Review
Rated 91
The 2008 Malbec, sourced from ungrafted vines over 80 years of age, was aged for 12 months in 40% new French oak before bottling without fining or filtration (as are all these Mendel wines). Medium purple in color with legs that coat the glass, it reveals a lovely nose of Asian spices, incense, lavender, black cherry, and black raspberry. Supple, ripe, and round on the palate with medium- to full-body, layered fruit, and excellent balance, it has the structure to evolve for 1-2 years but can be approached now.

Wine Tasting Notes
Incredible dark red/purple color. The aromas of sweet French oak and espresso get more complex with every swirl of the glass, unveiling black raspberry, blueberry and rose petal aromas. The wine is full-bodied, dense, deep and chewy with flavors of black raspberry, plums, cola, roasted coffee and caramel notes. Definitely a youngster with plenty of ripe tannins for structure, but this beauty could be enjoyed now with a nice ribeye steak or leg of lamb since it shows incredible balance for such a concentrated wine.