Bodegas Caro Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2015

Wine Spectator 92 points - Well-honed and very refined, with polished dried berry and plum flavors that are supported by firm tannins. The crisp finish offers mineral, slate and dried herb notes. Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2023. 4,000 cases made. -KM.October/2018

Vinous 93 points - (14% alcohol; aged for 18 months in French oak, 60% new): Bright, dark red-ruby. Deeper on the nose than the 2015 Amancaya by a wide margin, offering aromas of cassis, licorice, graphite, mocha and tobacco leaf. Richer and deeper on the palate too, boasting excellent flesh and concentration as well as subtle sweetness to its blackcurrant and mineral flavors. Boasts lovely clarity and inner-mouth lift and spreads out horizontally on the back end, vibrating and building. The tannins are refined and not all austere; this distinctly Old World style of Malbec should evolve slowly and gracefully..July/2018

Wine Advocate 94 points - The eponymous flagship 2015 Caro is a blend of Malbec with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. As 2015 was a very challenging year for Cabernet Sauvignon, this vintage has more Malbec than in the past, which seems to have given it extra freshness. The percentage of Malbec has been creeping up since 2012, which has moved the profile toward more red fruit and freshness, and at the same time, they have been reducing the amount of new oak used. It comes from the oldest plots in their vineyards in Paraje Altamira and Las Compuertas. It fermented in stainless steel with neutral yeasts, including malolactic. The elevage lasted 18 months and was in French barriques produced by the Domaine Lafite, of which 60% were new and the rest second use. This is my favorite vintage of Caro so far, always an elegant and classical blend but now with an extra dimension of freshness. It has harmony and balance for a positive development in bottle. It’s still young, but it’s certainly approachable. 38,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2016..June/2018

James Suckling 94 points - The smoke and currant character of this wine is impressive. Some blackberries and fresh herbs, too. Oak showing now. Full-bodied, tight and linear with juicy tannins. Needs three or four year to polish the finish. More malbec (85%) in the blend than usual, and the rest cabernet sauvignon. Drink in 2020..March/2018