Achaval Ferrer Quimera 2013

Quimera is architecture and design; it is a unique warm-blend that was conceived at the vineyard. Every year Santiago and Roberto look for the meaning within the earth in the search for the impossible wine, making it unique year after year. This resulting in a wine with deep shades, aromas that range from stony and earthy, of dark fruit, up to delicate rosemary hints. It is ample in the palate, with delicious and almost feminine acidity.

93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate     Sourced from a diversity of places in the province of Mendoza, the 2013 Quimera is a blend of different red grapes, a mixture that is more or less constant across vintages, 50% Malbec, 24% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine matures in brand new French oak barrels, but in 2013 the change is about the size of the barrels that was the result of an internal investigation they have been conducting in the winery. In 2011 they started experimenting with different sizes but from the same cooper. They bought larger and smaller barrels and they were surprised that smaller barrels gave more expressive fruit, so they started using 160-liter oak barrels. I had never heard this before, and in fact Santiago Achaval tells me this has not worked with his wines from California, but in Achaval-Ferrer half of the barrels are now 160-liter! The barrels work well up to three uses, and he thinks it's because the juicy wines from Mendoza have a stronger demand for aeration and the wine benefits from a higher ratio of wood-to-wine because of how much oxygen the wine demands. The nose has no trace of wood, and it's eminently floral. The palate has electric acidity, acid strawberries, it makes you salivate, makes you long for the next sip. Simply delicious. The best Quimera I've tasted. The wine will not be released until March 2016. 60,000 bottles were produced. Bottled in September 2014.

92 Points - James Suckling     A very soft and floral character here with medium to full body, bright fine tannins and a fresh and silky finish. Lovely now. Tangy and lively. A blend of mostly malbec, cabernet franc, merlot, and sauvignon. Drink or hold.

90 Points - Wine Spectator     An exotic style, with effusive notes of dark chocolate to the flavors of dark plum and dried raspberry. Hints of paprika show on the finish, along with some cedary accents. Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2018.