Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 93 points

The new top-of-the-range is the 2011 Gran VU Blend. VU stands for Valle de Uco, but they were not allowed to use it in the name, so they went for the acronym. They separated some specific rows of vines in their estate (at least 10 different places for the Malbec) for this wine and the different varieties were handled separately: the Malbec is fermented in new barriques and the Cabernet fermented in oak vats. The wine matured in these new French barrique for some two years. Inky dark and with strong black aromas of peat, graphite, coal and plenty of ripe back cherries and plums. The palate is much more elegant than I expected given the profile found in the nose. There is good freshness and acidity and even though it's a big wine with plenty of stuffing the components are in very good balance. This is a beast of a red blend, an XXL expression of the Uco Valley, that should be able to age nicely in bottle. It's four years old now and it looks like a baby after two years in bottle. It represents quite a big jump in price. 5,916 bottle produced.

Review date: August 2015