Susana Balbo Signature Brioso Red Blend 2012
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Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with beef, pork, lamb, squab, quail and duck.
Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Lush and smooth with rich plum, berries and spice; rich, deep and beautifully structured; long and generous. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Susana Balbo 2012 Brioso is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% each Malbec and Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot from their estate vineyard in Agrelo planted at high-density (8,000 plants per hectare). It fermented in a mixture of egg-shaped cement tanks, large oak vats and open barriques and then matured in 100% new French oak for some 14 months (less than in the past, down for 18 months). The nose is very classic with plenty of cedar wood, smoke, sweet spices, graphite, blackberries and dark plums that reflect the ripe, warm vintage. The medium to full-bodied palate drinks like a classic, serious Bordeaux blend aimed for the consumer who wants an elegant, balanced, complex and powerful wine with polished tannins and good length. It has French style with an Argentine twist. This is the last vintage sourced for Agrelo, as in the future this wine will be a blend of fruit from Agrelo and Gualtallary in Tupungato in the Uco Valley. You can have up to 20% grapes from other places and still keep the appellation, so it will continue to be Agrelo, but there will be other origins in the blend. This 2012 will benefit from some time in bottle before pulling the cork.
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James Suckling
A pretty red with fine tannins and delicious fruit. Medium to full body, integrated and polished tannins and a long finish. Drink or hold.
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Susana Balbo graduated from Don Bosco University in Mendoza in 1981 and established herself as Argentina’s first female enologist and, since then, has been considered one of Argentina’s top winemakers. Three times her industry peers elected her to the Presidency of Wines of Argentina because of her work ethic, innovative winemaking techniques and dedication to the worldwide success of Argentine wine.
After working for twenty years as a consulting winemaker, Susana founded her own brand in 2000. In 2001, she broke ground for her winery in Agrelo in the Luján de Cuyo district of Mendoza. There, she makes her Susana Balbo “Signature” line of wines, as well as wines under the Crios, Nosotros and BenMarco labels. Her winemaking approach for the wines that bear her name is to seamlessly apply her human touch and enhance the grape’s innate character.
Over several decades of winemaking in Argentina, Susana has earned a reputation for a pioneering spirit and innovation. She is known for experimenting with various barrel sizes and aging regimens, fermentation of wine in egg-shaped concrete fermenters, and wild yeast fermentations. The Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez dubbed her groundbreaking barrel-fermented Torrontés one of the “10 Argentine Wines to Drink before You Die.”
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
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.