2017 TIKAL PATRIOTA MALBEC-BONARDA BY ERNESTO CATENA, MENDOZA ARGENTINA

Tikal is Celebrating the old school style of Argentine red here. Made with 60% Bonarda; Argentina’s other red grape, and 40% Malbec. Bonarda gets pretty ripe easily and adds some boofy tannins, so this is an exercise in big bold flavours. Think good quality Port without the alcohol. There is a lot to love about this sort of wine as there is plenty of savoury elements to balance the boldness.

Ernesto is the son of THE Nicolas Catena; the man who put Argentina on the wine map. Ernesto’s passion is making wine as natural as possible. His own vineyard is run using biodynamic viticulture but he also sources fruit from the family estate and its outstanding vineyards. Ernesto has made some of my favourite Argentine wines to date.