2018 Belasco de Baquedano Llama Cabernet Franc Old Vine Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza Argentina 750 ml

Most Cabernet Franc we’re used to from California, Washington, or Bordeaux tends to taste sort of similar. But, this 2018 Belasco De Baquedano Llama Cabernet Franc—from the very estate that convinced Château Mouton Rothschild’s winemaker to leave the Médoc for Mendoza—is markedly different.

Fruitier than a Loire Chinon, this has all the spice, florals, and intrigue that we adore in this grape, plus the ripeness and structure we love from Napa. A lovely purity of fruit gives way to aromas of sage, bay leaf, and muddled red raspberry. Blackberry and cassis coat the palate, along with dried savory herbs and an attractive tinge of licorice.

Further elevated by an elegant salinity and complex minerality, the value price on this 2018 Llama Cabernet Franc is almost bewildering—especially given that its freshness could only come from its 50-year-old vines and the exceptionally high altitude of its vineyard. Not exactly the traits of a value wine.

But those are the traits of a refreshing wine. Which is precisely how this 2018 Belasco De Baquedano Llama Cabernet Franc became known to us. Belasco de Baquedano is located in Mendoza’s famed Agrelo district of Luján de Cuyo—considered one of the most important premium growing sites throughout Argentina, and often referenced as “The Golden Mile” (hence the annual race through the vineyards that starts and ends at Belasco).

Last October, Wine Access VP of Wine Neil Mechanic got a breathless phone call from an industry tasting group buddy who had just completed the race.

As recounted by Neil: “Neil! [Deep heaving breaths] I can’t talk, but I just ran the Once Millas de los Campeones [Eleven Miles of Champions] and they are pouring this crazy delicious Cab Franc at the finish line! [More panting] They say nobody has it in the states yet! [Audible gasp] I’m bringing you a bottle. [Hangs up].”

Though his friend has a proven palate, Neil isn’t one to trust a wine recommendation that was vetted immediately after completing an eleven-mile race, so he promptly forgot about it. That is, until the 2018 Belasco De Baquedano Llama Cabernet Franc—soon lovingly dubbed in the office as ‘Belasco De Aquafina’—showed up at Wine Access HQ a couple of weeks later.

The jokes stopped immediately when we tasted it, and our own race started. The race to secure an allocation of what we unanimously acknowledged was a killer wine.

Set against a striking Andes backdrop (next to famous neighbor Catena Zapata), the vineyards soar up to 3,346 feet. There, warm days are offset by cool nights with as much as a 45°F temperature shift, resulting in wines of intense aromas and powerful flavors, while maintaining an impressively elegant acidity.

Belasco de Baquedano was founded by Juan Ignacio Belasco, the scion of a Spanish distilling family, who saw more potential in Argentina’s old vines than in the liquor business. He recruited the now-late Bertrand Bourdil, who left his head winemaker post at Mouton Rothschild (where he’d earned three 100-point scores from Robert Parker) as soon as he realized how much more he could do for the money in Luján de Cuyo.

Today, Juan Ignacio’s son Mikel is at the helm, and it was his idea to serve bottles of the 2018 Belasco De Baquedano Llama Cabernet Franc at the finish line of the Once Millas de los Campeones. Deliciously refreshing without being preciously priced—we’d run eleven miles to get our hands on this.

Luckily, we don’t have to. And neither do you.