Achaval Ferrer Finca Mirador 2006
Malbec
Grapes from Medrano in Mendoza
$79-$120 on Wine-searcher, but a number of vendors sell it for $79-$80.
Keeper

This is one of the legendary triumvirate of icon-level Malbecs produced by Achaval Ferrer. The Malbec grapes used in this wine are from the lowest-altitude parcel of land from Achaval Ferrer’s stock.

Gorgeous color, as with all of Ferrer’s ultra premiums. Verging on purple, with innumerable shades of violet and orange-red. Great legs.

Strong aroma of soil and especially coffee.

This is an incredibly complex wine. Chocolate, coffee, flowers, and spices all pop out. It’s rather earthy, with a mineral-like taste to it. Citrus tones are, moreover, picked up with time. The finish is rather long. It is a very dense, full-bodied, round wine, with balanced tannins. Still, nothing is overly pronounced, and this wine is soft rather than bold, so it doesn’t come off as overpowering.

9.2/10
For my own taste, I don’t find this wine a particularly good value for the price and would be more inclined to rate it on the lower end, especially because the flavors are a bit on the softer side. I personally prefer refreshingly bold wines, especially for a Malbec. The quality of the wine, however, is undeniable.

The Food Buster wrote:
> Achaval Ferrer Finca Mirador 2006
> Malbec
> Grapes from Medrano in Mendoza
> $79-$120 on Wine-searcher, but a number of vendors sell it for $79-$80.
> Keeper
>
> This is one of the legendary triumvirate of icon-level Malbecs produced
> by Achaval Ferrer. The Malbec grapes used in this wine are from the
> lowest-altitude parcel of land from Achaval Ferrer’s stock.
>
> Gorgeous color, as with all of Ferrer’s ultra premiums. Verging on
> purple, with innumerable shades of violet and orange-red. Great legs.
>
> Strong aroma of soil and especially coffee.
>
> This is an incredibly complex wine. Chocolate, coffee, flowers, and
> spices all pop out. It’s rather earthy, with a mineral-like taste
> to it. Citrus tones are, moreover, picked up with time. The finish is
> rather long. It is a very dense, full-bodied, round wine, with balanced
> tannins. Still, nothing is overly pronounced, and this wine is soft
> rather than bold, so it doesn’t come off as overpowering.
>
> 9.2/10
> For my own taste, I don’t find this wine a particularly good value
> for the price and would be more inclined to rate it on the lower end,
> especially because the flavors are a bit on the softer side. I
> personally prefer refreshingly bold wines, especially for a Malbec. The
> quality of the wine, however, is undeniable.

Thanks for the interesting note. I have my first bottle of
Achaval-Ferrer queued up awaiting opening soon. It's a low level
bottling, so your words about the high end version are quite germane.
I'll post on mine when opened.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

I'm looking forward to it! Even though I think the Mirador could have been better, I'm a huge fan of Ferrer, especially after visiting his winery in Argentina.

I'll post up some of my other Ferrer reviews pretty soon. My personal favorite is the Quimera--by far the most interesting, though harshest, of his wines, and the best bang for the buck.