2014 Fabre Montmayou Malbec Reserva Mendoza 750 ml

“Don’t sweat it, Howard. We’ve got you covered!”

When Hervé Fabre first arrived in Mendoza in the late 1980s, he couldn’t figure it out. Money was beginning to pour into the vineyards of Argentina — lots of European money — and most was ticketed for new Malbec plantings at lower elevation. Replete with land-rippers and high-tech irrigation systems, the idea was to get lots into production quickly, then take advantage of the low cost of labor in Mendoza. Fabre saw things differently.

High up in the foothills of the Andes, less than 15 miles out of town, a swath of land had been planted to Malbec almost a century before. The vines were head-trained, not trellised. Yields were small, naturally pushing the envelope on concentration. While the cost of production would be much higher than in the flats, the wines had the potential for distinction on a world stage.

After taking stock of the direction taken by other investors, Hervé did just the opposite. He purchased every old-vine parcel he could find. Then he built a modern cellar and went to work.

Twenty-five years later, in the near perfect 2014 growing season, Fabre crafted a lineup of 2014s that would stun the Master of Wine panel at Britain’s high-brow Decanter Magazine. Tim Atkin called it “a beautifully judged wine with texture to spare.”

Opaque purple, with a flashy nose of ripe black fruit, licorice, and sweet new oak. Big, bold, and voluptuous on the attack. Plush and forward. Packed with a mix of crushed black fruit and black raspberry preserves. Silken in texture, yet taut and finely delineated. Finishing with ripe, chewy tannins. Drink now-2020.

94 points. $14.50 per bottle. Another 150 cases, minus the three earmarked for Howard, leaves 147 up for grabs. Shipping included on just 6.