Dit komt duidelijk tot uiting in de wijn. Aroma's van rood fruit komen sterker naar voren dan die van zwart fruit, de zuurgraad is fris en het alcoholgehalte is lager dan in warmere jaargangen. De gisting begon in betonnen tanks, waarbij 50% hele trossen werd gebruikt; de wijn werd vervolgens vroeg geperst en het sap voltooide de gisting in eikenhouten foudres (grote houten vaten) op dezelfde manier als witte wijn. Daarna rijpte de wijn 18 maanden in Frans eiken.
De stijl van deze wijn legt de nadruk op finesse boven intensiteit, en het oogstjaar 2016 benadrukt deze eigenschap nog sterker dan gewoonlijk. Deze wijn komt het best tot zijn recht tot 2034.
Robert Parker (97)
The 2016 Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae is from a cold and rainy El Niño vintage that broke the mold of typical Mendoza weather. The grapes were picked a bit later and achieved a slow, perfect ripening while retaining very good freshness. They used 50% full clusters in this cooler year. The wine was pressed before it finished fermenting (in concrete), and the juice—without skins, pips or stems—finished fermenting like a white in the foudre. When I tasted the wines after bottling, this felt a bit dizzy, with the aromatics coming and going, sometimes showing a little open. But the wine settled in bottle, and the palate shows the core of acidity that lifts the wine and provides incredible freshness; the tannins are ultra refined, and there is great overall balance. Yields were lower, so they only filled some 3,360 bottles.
James Suckling (96)
Aromas of violets, blueberries and black licorice follow through to a full body with tight and restrained tannins and a lively acidity. An energetic and youthful wine. Can age wonderfully but exciting to taste now.
Jancis Robinson (18)
100% Malbec from a 1.4-ha parcel in the Adrianna vineyard in Gualtallary at 1,390 m. The calcareous soils are ‘well drained and particularly rich in rhizobacteria, the microorganisms that help vine roots withstand stress and absorb nutrients’ – hence the name. 75% begins fermentation in concrete (50% whole bunch), 25% (juice only) in oak foudre. 18 months in French oak. TA 7.4 g/l, pH 3.45.
Still deep crimson with an evolved rim. Complex and remarkably fresh. A savoury envoy from the Andes with structure but good-quality tannins. Jancis Robinson
