All wines
Pol Opuesto
Mala Hierba Nunca Muere
2017
4.0
980 UAHQPR 1.05Region
Argentina › Mendoza
Type
red · still
Grapes
Corbeau
Alcohol
12%
Volume
750 mL
Sugar
1 g/L
Tasting Notes(1)
4.0
Oof, this is nice. And this is my first Corbeau (aka Douce Noire or Argentinian Bonarda). And not a simple one. Rhubarb, marigold, wormwood, blood, and spoiled strawberry. On the palate, it's like eating a salad made of wormwood with marigolds. Does it sound bitter? Well, Mala Hierba (hehe, what a fitting name) is bitter, maybe even too much. Juicy, fresh, and not for everyone, but somehow charming.
About
"If I were told I could only make wine in Argentina from one variety, I would choose Bonarda" - says Pol Andsnes. After moving to Argentina and starting his winery, it took him full 5 years to discover the exact vineyard that would express (for him) the real potential of Bonarda. Mala Hierba means bad weed (бур'ян), this is what grows together with his 45-years old vines. Mala Hierba Nunca Muere. Literally, it means that weed never dies. But you can use it to say that only good ones die young. Oh, these rebels! It's a kind of homage to people of a rare breed that appreciate Bonarda.
Whole bunches of grapes are crushed and trodden with 19 days of maceration. While the fermentation was still ongoing, Pol pressed it in a manual basket press and moved it to old 225-litre French oak barrels to finish fermentation. It is aged for additional 11 months before bottling, of course, unfined and unfiltered with only a tiny bit of sulphur added.
