I didn’t find the 2017 bottling of this wine to be particularly interesting, but the 2018 offers a dramatic reversal. While dry and earthy, with some of the same forest floor notes I encountered in ’17, its notes of licorice, allspice, and clove are just prologue to a finish that finds a lot more room for fruit, particularly raspberries, laced with notes of dark chocolate. At all of 10 bucks a bottle, it’s a pretty amazing value for a wine that may not be overwhelmingly complex, but which works well as a straightforward dinnertime companion.

A- / $10 / tintonegro.com

2018 Tinto Negro Malbec Uco Valley

$10

8

Rating

8.0/10