2014 Casarena 505 Esencia Red Blend, Mendoza, Argentina (Guía Peñin 91)

The 2014 Casarena 505 Esencia Red Blend from Mendoza, Argentina is a fantastic wine for one person to drink while watching a movie. This wine rewards patience as it doesn't get going until it has been decanted for 35+ minutes and continues to evolve and impress more and more between 45 minutes and an hour and a half after opening. At 7-10 minutes, the initial nose offers dried mint, tobacco, steely minerality, and a mix of red and black cherry compote. At 15-minutes, toasty oak emerges on the nose. 5 minutes later, whiffs of roasted coffee beans and plum skins add dimension. At 35 minutes, the cherry fruits are becoming juicy, and the plum skins are picking up fleshiness signaling the beginning of the drinking window. By 45 minutes, the cherry flavors are becoming sweet with air (wine is dry) as delivered on the 30+ second finish. There's an interesting spicy minerality with cracked black pepper and hints of bell peppers.     After an hour, the Esencia has become delicious delivering a lush melange of cherries with fine powdery tannins. At an hour and fifteen minutes, this wine really starts delivering sappy red cherries such as sweet red Twizzlers licorice (wine is dry) with lavender accents. This wine has more than ample structure as the wood presence is such that it will compliment fatty cuts of beef such as Ribeye perfectly. At this point, I can go a tick higher than Guía Peñin's 91 point score. At just $13.87, this is a fantastic value for those who show patience in making this wine an event.

- Tasho Katsaboulas 

2014 Casarena Estate Malbec, Mendoza -Suckling 92

2014 Casarena Estate Malbec, Mendoza (Suckling 92): The 2014 Casarena Estate Malbec is from famed Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina.  By the end of our experience, Jimm and I (Tasho) were amazed at how delicious and easy drinking this wine is while still displaying intriguing minerality. After vigorously agitating in a decanter, an initial nose of sweet charred oak, rich vanilla extract, and blackberries with faint sage emerged. At 10 minutes, aromas of damson plums join with a whiff of dried dill. On the palate, the juicy blackberries and luscious plums finish with slight spice and attractive minerality. At 25 minutes, a lightly floral aspect like violets adds complexity with faint wet chalk or a slight soapiness. By 45 minutes in, the fruit is becoming even more textured in revealing a red-fruit dimension like cherries. The wine is elegantly balanced with juicy acidity keeping the wine light on its feet while gracefully delivering rich fruits. Everything that this wine does is in perfect harmony. It's like each flavor was meant to go with the other in the proportions delivered. Malbecs don't get much better at $16, and the ones that are won't appeal to as many as this one.

2014 Casarena Cabernet (Suckling 92)

James Suckling reviewed this outstanding $16.98 value 92 points. The wine's initial aromas are of cranberry skins, struck flint, dry herbs, and white pepper. With air, dark fruits begin to emerge on the nose with pleasing oaky aromas, charred vanilla, and mocha. The initial palate is lively displaying tart black cherries, cranberry skins, and yellow plums. At 15 minutes, blue fruits join on the nose a palate with dry mint flavors. At 25 minutes, the wine starts becoming more varietally correct with a whiff of bell pepper accenting black currants, mocha, dry mint, and vanilla extract. With more time, the wine seems to become darker and richer while still maintaining a tart cherry component that keeps the wine dynamic. This Cabernet is a steal. 

- Tasho Katsaboulas

2015 Amalaya Malbec, Salta, Argentina (Decanter 94 Points)

Any wine that survives the three-judge gauntlet of Decanter with a score of 94 is worth a look in our book, even more when that wine comes in at under $20 a bottle. The Amalaya 2015 Malbec fits that bill, and after our tasting, we discovered that this is not your average Argentinian Malbec.

With decanting in mind, we recommend delving into the scent of the wine at 25 minutes with a few test sips to follow in the next 10 minutes. From 35 minutes out, the wine truly shows its character and can be fully enjoyed. 

We poured this wine into a decanter, and after five minutes of vigorous agitation, we found that the initial nose was filled with soft scents of gunpowder and cocoa powder. At 15 minutes, the cocoa powder had asserted itself to be the dominant flavor while scents of dried wintergreen and dark fruits were lurking in the shadows.

At 25 minutes, hints of vanilla began to pierce through the cocoa powder cover whereas 30 minutes of decanting allowed an array of juicy plums and black cherries to shine on the palate with a solid 30-second finish.

Now 35-45 minutes in, this wine shows just how unique of a Malbec it is when the palate and nose fill with burnt matchstick, underripe strawberries, blueberries, and crabapples. Finally, at the 1-hour mark, a minerality emerged with notes of salt and yellow plums.

Throughout the tastings, we were intrigued by the character of this Amalaya Malbec.  There is a remarkable acidic energy beyond that typical for the varietal making it a fantastic food wine made for spring patio weather.  With such acidity, this wine would pair perfectly with freshly grilled ribeyes or lamb chops. However, it's not limited to the grill; this wine can be the new best friend for your meat lovers pizza, beef roast, rich cheeses, or any fatty, stick to your ribs fare. 

If you've been struggling to decide which wine should go with your Sunday dinner, we have your answer with the Amalaya 2015 Malbec.

- Andrew Dunaway

2014 Casarena Estate Malbec, Mendoza (Suckling 92)

The 2014 Casarena Estate Malbec is from famed Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina and was reviewed an impressive 92 out of 100 by the former senior editor of Wine Spectator, James Suckling.  By the end of our experience, Jimm and I (Tasho) were amazed at how delicious and easy drinking this wine is while still displaying intriguing minerality. After vigorously agitating in a decanter, an initial nose of sweet charred oak, rich vanilla extract, and blackberries with faint sage emerged. At 10 minutes, aromas of damson plums join with a whiff of dried dill. On the palate, the juicy blackberries and luscious plums finish with slight spice and attractive minerality. At 25 minutes, a lightly floral aspect like violets adds complexity with faint wet chalk or a slight soapiness. By 45 minutes in, the fruit is becoming even more textured in revealing a red-fruit dimension like cherries. The wine is elegantly balanced with juicy acidity keeping the wine light on its feet while gracefully delivering rich fruits. Everything that this wine does is in perfect harmony. It's like each flavor was meant to go with the other in the proportions delivered. Malbecs don't get much better at $16 and the ones that are won't appeal to as many as this one.

Finca El Origen 2014 Torrontes $13.98, Guiapenin 91 Points

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We are now in the heart of summer in Mississippi and we are all looking for any way possible to cool down. Well, one great way to accomplish this feat is to drink some nice, cold, white wine, and the 2014 Finca El Origen Torrontes is the perfect choice. This wine is only $13.98 and is a Guiapenin 91 point score.  Sitting for this tasting were the usual suspects, Tasho, Jimm, and myself (Kyle). We poured this wine in a decanter cold and then poured up our glasses. Straight out of the bottle, this wine immediately had strong notes of high-end, coconut tanning lotion with a little soapiness. This made us all want to find the nearest pool! Speaking of which, this wine would go perfect by the pool! After about 10 minutes, the wine opened up with notes of white flower nectar, and a very interesting, oily, spiciness on the palate. We also picked up some aromas of lanolin. As the wine progressed, we picked up notes of dried lemon, fruit-stripe gum (almost like a dried Juicy-Fruit), and also freshly sliced lemons! After about 20 minutes, we tasted wonderful hints of lemon glaze. This wine has very intense coconut/white flower characteristics, and is a great new wine to try if you have never tasted the best kept secret of Argentina, Torrontes! (Also, we have it COLD!)

Until we taste again,
Kyle