2018 Bodega Iaccarini Malbec Viablanca Terroir Series Mendoza Argentina 750 ml

Wines that deliver the level of silkiness and concentration found in the 2018 Bodega Iaccarini Viablanca Malbec are rare at this price point. 

That’s why, when we learned the price on the 90-point Bodega Iaccarini, we claimed every last US-bound case for Wine Access members… and a few for ourselves. This is a radiant and rich Mendoza Malbec boasting a belief-defying price that makes it one of the no-brainer case-buys of the year.

We were thrilled to get our hands on this elusive prize, because it’s rarely available outside the winery: In-the-know locals typically snap it up before importers can even get close. 

Grown in a 2018 vintage characterized by Wine Spectator as “nearly ideal” and sculpted from raw, high-elevation Andean terroir, this Viablanca was polished to a diamond-level of shine by winemaker Gabriela Celeste. 

Bodega Iaccarini was the original winery on the fertile alluvial plains of San Rafael, having been established in the district of Las Paredes back in 1903 by the Italian immigrant Don Pascual Iaccarini.

Planting vines between the Diamante and Atuel rivers, Iaccarini founded a tradition that is carried on today by Celeste. In Mendoza’s landmark 2018 vintage, she pushed the high-elevation Malbec vines to their limit, trimming yields and amping up concentration, balancing richness with vibrancy.

The result is a Malbec detailed with the unique thumbprint of San Rafael. The lowest plots of its vineyards are sandy, but as you climb higher, the sand is mixed with clay. At the very top of the slope, the soils are gravelly, similar to what you find in Graves. That mix produces a wine that’s softer and more elegant than other Malbecs—and a superb find for the price.