El Enemigo Mendoza Gran Enemigo 2017
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James
Suckling - Vinous
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Robert
Parker -
Wine &
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Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The nose presents sweet aromas of black ripen fruits with hints of vanilla and chocolate, which appear after the oak ageing. The mouthfeel is sweet with structured, persistent tannins due to the natural acidity of this wine, leading into an excellent long finish.
This wine pairs well with grilled meat, cheese, or slow roasted beef dishes.
Blend: 50% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A refined, medium-to full-bodied red with aromas of blackberry, bitter chocolate, violets, tar and tobacco. Ultra fine tannins, interwoven with silky and seamless layers of dark berries. So elegant and fine. Long. Serious and focused with fantastic depth and structure. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2017 Gran Enemigo is half Malbec and 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot from Gualtallary, Uco Valley, along with a 10% dash of Petit Verdot from Luján de Cuyo. It was 30% fermented with stems and aged in French barrels and foudres. The complex nose delivers notes of plum jam, black tea, mint and herbs combined with redcurrants and notes from the aging process such as cedar and ash. In the mouth, it’s intense with a vigorous flow and firm, tannic structure in which the freshness and concentration help to create an easygoing but substantial style before the lengthy finish, which is full of nuanced aromas. Drinking window: 2021 - 2037
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The blend 2017 Gran Enemigo was produced with 50% Malbec, 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot from Gualtallary and feels very creamy and undeveloped, ripe without excess but reflecting the warmer and drier year. The blend of grapes has produced a rounder and mellower wine, gentler but still with a very low pH and very good acidity with a dry, chalky-driven finish. This is more open and approachable than the rest of Gran Enemigo from this vintage. It fermented completely destemmed in barrel—it's the only Gran Enemigo that was destemmed, as the rest were 100% full clusters in 2017—and matured in ancient oak foudre.
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Wine & Spirits
Alejandro Vigil and Adrianna Catena make this malbec-focused blend at their winery in the southern foothills of Maipú. Cabernets sauvignon and franc dominate the aromas, red and spicy, flecked with cedar. Once you drink it, though, there’s no mistaking the weight of malbec. Peppercorn spice adds some complexity to the dark, powerful fruit, and the sappy finish recalls the cedar up front. It’s rich, but there’s just enough freshness to dial it back to a nice place.
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Wine Enthusiast
This Malbec-dominant blend opens with earthy and dark chocolate notes followed by aromas of ripe blackberry. It’s balanced and has smooth tannins framing black fruit, spices and coffee bean flavors. The finish is long with oaky notes in the aftertaste. It’s very enjoyable.
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El Enemigo translates as the enemy. Nodding to the fact that at the end of any journey, most remember only one battle — the one fought within (the original enemy). This is the battle that defines us. The wines of El Enemigo are a tribute to those internal battles that make us who we are, brought to fruition by a winemaker, Alejandro Vigil, and a historian, Adrianna Catena who share a love of wine and reach back in time to capture the era when European immigrants first settled in Argentina. These settlers sought to make wines as fine, and finer, than those of their old homeland. By 1936, Malbec and Petit Verdot were the most widely planted fine varietals in Argentina, their blend considered the ultimate in refinement and aging potential.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
By far the largest and best-known winemaking province in Argentina, Mendoza is responsible for over 70% of the country’s enological output. Set in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains, the climate is dry and continental, presenting relatively few challenges for viticulturists during the growing season. Mendoza, divided into several distinctive sub-regions, including Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, is the source of some of the country’s finest wines.
For many wine lovers, Mendoza is practically synonymous with Malbec. Originally a Bordelaise variety brought to Argentina by the French in the mid-1800s, here it found success and renown that it never knew in its homeland where a finicky climate gives mixed results. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir are all widely planted here as well (and sometimes even blended with each other or Malbec). Mendoza's main white varieties include Chardonnay, Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.