Chakana Malbec Ayni Paraje Altamira

Deep ruby color. Medium body, fruity, fairly strong acidity. Initial almost candy-like fruit explosion in the mouth, changing to acidic and tannic in aftertaste. Raspberry, cherry, tobacco, smoke. Would have again but maybe not at this price (298 HK$) as there are better options for my taste. Good match with fish (soy sauce marinated barramundi with rice). Also matched well with Norwegian pinnekjøtt (salted cured lamb ribs). Tannins got nicely rounded off after some airing. Probably would do well with …

Chakana have been on an interesting journey over the last decade or so, moving away from heavily oaked / extracted wines (and some huge Parker scores) to an almost 'natural' winemaking style in the present day with talented winemaker Gabriel Bloise. This bottle of Ayni Malbec (one of their top bottlings) seems somewhere between the two. Opaque ruby in the glass. Lots of dark cherry, blackberry, forest floor, bonito flake and other savoury notes waft up on the rich nose. …

Okay for inexpensive Malbec, but not great

Consistent with previous note.

Popped and poured. Opaque purple colour. Primary dark raspberry and cherry fruit, dry soil and herbs on the nose and palate. Dense and firmly structured. Fairly accessible already, but should improve over the next two to three years (89-90 points).