El Enemigo Cabernet Franc 2011
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 El Enemigo Cabernet Franc is a little bit of the reverse blend of the Malbec, as it packs 92% Cabernet Franc and 8% Malbec also from Gualtallary in Tupungato in the Uco Valley. However, this is sourced from plots planted with 10,000 plants per hectare on schist soils. Very little SO2 was used in the production of this wine. It has some notes of black fruit and violets, but remains closed, austere, lineal and straight with very high acidity. It is very much about the soil, not much about the fruit, but its youth is revealed in the notes of the elevage that are still there: that is cedar wood, peat and graphite. Summarizing, this is an austere, serious, long, tight red that has great potential to age. Drink 2015-2020.
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Wine Enthusiast
Ripe berry, cassis and grilled meat aromas presage a fresh, zesty palate with free-flowing acidity that pumps up cherry, red plum, cassis and loamy earth flavors. It stays fruity, stout and smooth on the finish. The wine is ripe and fully representative of Mendoza and winemaker Alejandro's Vigil's style.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe, rich and well-crafted, with a meaty note to the open-textured flavors of dark plum, blackberry and dark chocolate. Very lush midpalate, with plenty of vanilla and spice accents. Finishes with hints of chocolate mousse and cedar. Drink now through 2019. 50 cases imported.
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El Enemigo translates as the enemy. Nodding to the fact that at the end of any journey, most remember only one battle — the one fought within (the original enemy). This is the battle that defines us. The wines of El Enemigo are a tribute to those internal battles that make us who we are, brought to fruition by a winemaker, Alejandro Vigil, and a historian, Adrianna Catena who share a love of wine and reach back in time to capture the era when European immigrants first settled in Argentina. These settlers sought to make wines as fine, and finer, than those of their old homeland. By 1936, Malbec and Petit Verdot were the most widely planted fine varietals in Argentina, their blend considered the ultimate in refinement and aging potential.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
By far the largest and best-known winemaking province in Argentina, Mendoza is responsible for over 70% of the country’s enological output. Set in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains, the climate is dry and continental, presenting relatively few challenges for viticulturists during the growing season. Mendoza, divided into several distinctive sub-regions, including Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, is the source of some of the country’s finest wines.
For many wine lovers, Mendoza is practically synonymous with Malbec. Originally a Bordelaise variety brought to Argentina by the French in the mid-1800s, here it found success and renown that it never knew in its homeland where a finicky climate gives mixed results. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir are all widely planted here as well (and sometimes even blended with each other or Malbec). Mendoza's main white varieties include Chardonnay, Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.