Historic Nieto Senetiner winery offers tasty Argentinian wines at affordable price points

Last year, I wrote a cover story for The Tasting Panel about Argentina’s Nieto Senetiner winery. [See page 70 in this digital archive.] I was impressed by the wines and especially by my conversation with winemaker Santiago Mayorga. He and the Nieto Senetiner are leading a new generation of change, elevated quality and focus on terroir in Argentinian wines.

I was happy to be able to catch up with Santiago again last month during a quick trip he made to San Francisco. And the new releases I tasted were even better than the wines had been last year. They are not just very good drinking wines but excellent values.

2014 Nieto Senetiner Malbec Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza 90+pts 14.0% 750ml $12.99
Medium+ body with fine, silky texture. Expect plenty of slightly jammy berries, cranberry sauce, smoke, spice and herbs. An amazing value, so good that I strongly urged a wine bar I was consulting for to feature this wine on their by-the-glass list.

2014 Nieto Senetiner Bonarda Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza 89pts 14.0% 750ml $12.99
Black and purple berry fruit and dry earth on the nose. Add some red fruit and chocolatey oak on the lightly chalky palate. Grill up a burger.

2013 Don Nicanor Nieto Senetiner Malbec Mendoza 91+pts 14.5% 750ml $18.99
Concentrated and structured with spice, dusty oak and dark fruit. Medium+ body with lots of fine, chalky texture. Malbec for ribeye. Decant it or give it a couple of years in bottle.

2012 Don Nicanor Nieto Senetiner Blend Mendoza 91+pts 15.0% 750ml
An even split of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Black currant, cherry, sweet spice, toasty oak and mocha. Medium+ body in the mouth with oak slightly dominating the jammy fruit.

2014 Don Nicanor Barrel Select Malbec 92+pts 14.5% 750ml $24.99
Nearly full-bodied with fine-grained, lightly chalky texture. Ripe cherry, berries, spice, cocoa and a hint of oak. Balanced, flavorful and so drinkable.

Copyright Fred Swan 2016. All rights reserved.