Mendel Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Roberto de la Mota has again crafted an exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon in Mendel’s 2021 Mendel Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon (93 Points – Tim Atkin; 93 Points – James Suckling; 92 Points – Robert Parker; 92 Points – Vinous). Harvested from the estate’s premier, high elevation vineyards and matured in 100% oak barrels for 12 months, the 2021 Mendel Lujan de Cuyo Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits amplifying aromatics and bold beautiful flavors. Blackberry, cassis, and dark chocolate flavors flow on a bed of ripe, racy tannins. Add deft touches of spice and well-integrated oak tones to the wine’s pure ripe berry tones and this Cabernet fills the mouth, before finishing with real panache. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest affording the 2021 Mendel Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon 20-30 minutes of aeration before consuming it at cool room temperature (58°-62° F). Anticipated maturity: 2024-2030. Enjoy!

The finest red wines of Argentina provide the ultimate accompaniments to all kinds of meat, which makes the 2021 Mendel Lujan de Cuyo Cabernet Sauvignon an ideal companion to prime beef, lamb, poultry, and game. A perfectly grilled ribeye with a touch of a spicy rub provides a sublime accompaniment to Mendel’s superb 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. Rack of lamb served with potatoes au gratin and haricots verts makes another splendid pairing. Roast pork stuffed with a black olive tapenade and wrapped in prosciutto provides another very tasty accompaniment. Potato Gnocchi with grilled chicken and apple sausage, oil cured tomatoes, fire roasted peppers and mustard greens also makes a strong case for itself in the company of Mendel’s balanced, flavor packed 2021 Lujan de Cuyo Cabernet Sauvignon. Buen Provecho!

Mendel fashions some of Argentina’s most exciting red and white wines. Proprietor and long-time wine lover Anabelle Sielecki has created Mendel, and with the consummate winemaking skills of winemaker Roberto de la Mota the two have transformed Anabelle’s historic 1928 family vineyard into a world-renowned estate. Together, this dynamic duo, visionary and winemaker, have earned Mendel international acclaim. In homage to Anabelle’s father, a hardworking immigrant and successful businessman, the winery bears her father’s name.

Although many premium wines from Argentina have come to fore, making formidable impressions upon critics and consumers alike for their stout extroverted natures, very few possess the concentration, depth of flavor, and ageability of Mendel’s wines. Not a problem at Mendel, where Roberto de la Mota uses his consummate winemaking skills to craft red and white wines of considerable stature. Using his French winemaking experiences, Roberto has thrust Argentina’s winemaking movement toward the production of world-class wines where deep rich fruit flavors, elegance, power, and terroir are not only evident; they are paramount components of his superbly crafted and highly acclaimed wines. The estate’s incomparable Cabernet Sauvignon (this month’s feature); Unus, a delectable blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot; and Finca Remota from 100% old vine Malbec are three of Argentina’s finest wines.

Argentina has long been one of the world’s leading producers and consumers of wine. Presently, this sprawling nation, which contains some of the world’s most diverse geography (tropical jungle, barren desert, towering snow-capped mountains and windswept deserted islands that herald Antarctica), is the world’ fifth largest producer of wine and the planet’s third largest consumer of the fruit of the vine, placing it just behind Italy and France. As an interesting comparison, Argentina consumes more than five times the amount of wine per capita as does the United States (10.5 gallons per capita in Argentina versus just 2.0 gallons per head in the United States). Moreover, Argentina is no longer just a source of good, plentiful, everyday plonk; it is increasingly a treasure chest of world class red and white wines

In less than a century, the Mendoza, a state approximately the size of Illinois, has become Argentina’s leading wine producing region, accounting for the vast majority of the nation’s wine production and more than half of all the wine made in South America. Driven by Argentina’s seemingly insatiable thirst for wine, as well as the burgeoning worldwide demand for fine wine, especially well-made reds, Mendoza comprises more than 700,000 acres of vines, and it is still growing. The vast majority of wine from the arid, nearly insect-free environment of Mendoza is red, but the quality and variety of both white and red wines continues to grow exponentially. The recent attention to quality has been a boon for savvy North American consumers, who are now gobbling up the wine wares of Argentina at an ever increasing rate with the “Mighty Mendoza” leading the charge. This once sleeping giant houses a treasure trove of fine wines, with the wonders of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec in the vanguard. Moreover, Argentina has made great strides in recent years with its white wines, most notably Chardonnay, Semillon and Torrontes. Savvy consumers take note.