Ricardo Santos
Ricardo Santos has demonstrated a life-long commitment to the Argentinean wine tradition, particularly in regards to Argentina’s great varietal—Malbec. The former owner of the Norton Winery, Ricardo renounced a career in architecture to pursue his passion for winemaking with the belief that Argentina could make wines equal to the best in the world. He was the first winemaker from Argentina to export Malbec to the U.S. over thirty years ago. Ricardo Santos and his wife Estela now share this vision with the family: one son, Patricio, is winemaker; another son, Pedro, is head of marketing.
2006 Malbec – This exceptional wine is from the single vineyard La Madras, on the slopes of the Andes Mountains in Argentina at an altitude of 2,800 feet, allowing for a temperate Continental climate. Grapes are harvested and selected by hand, gently pressed, and only the first pressed juice used. The wine is then aged in French and American oak for six months. The 2006 Malbec is a striking deep brilliant purple color. The nose is ripe and full, reminiscent of dark cherries, plums, and chocolate with undertones of loam and earth. In the mouth, the wine displays a profound core of ripe, blackberry jam fruit, lengthening into a sophisticated weighty finish coupled with an elegant silkiness. This is a rich, extracted Malbec, atypical of most Malbecs from Argentina.
91 Points – Wine Enthusiast Magazine
