Dominio Del Plata, Ben Marco Expresivo, Mendoza

Similar to other Malbec experiences needed a decant to open and soften. But afterwards was velvety with great body. Med/low tannins and acidity. Is 85/15 Malbec/Cab Franc. Great QPD at <$35. Palate notes: oak dark fruit blackberry plum

2020 vintage

Mellow fruit, earth, bramble, amazing finish. Amazing.

2020 vintage

Showing no signs of fading. Good complexity at retail price and crazy good at auction price!

2004 vintage

Very earthy with cherry forward notes

2020 vintage

Deep and concentrated smell. It tasted mellow, viscous, and bold.

2020 vintage

Another good bottle. A great auction purchase.

2004 vintage

I really enjoyed this wine. Impressive depth and complexity at this price point. Aromas and flavors including cherry, dark fruit, cedar, spices, leather. Good length on the finish. Good with and without food. Plenty of life left but I doubt this improves much.

2004 vintage

Should have consumed 2 years ago, still enjoyed.

2003 vintage

Strong acidity, good fruit, good wine

2004 vintage

More fruit driven than earth driven, however overall in balance. Paired well with a salmon with a green tea, salt and pepper blend on top.

2011 vintage

Red rim, black centre. Huge alcoholic nose. Big body, massive fruit. Unapologetically fruit filled. Wonderful body and concentration. Susana at her best. Great, chewy mouthful of Malbec. Delicious.

2011 vintage

WIML89 Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of aspirin, smoke, pepper and black berries. Flavors of berries, cherries and raspberries. Medium acidity, medium tannin, medium to full bodied. Drink now if not yesterday.

2004 vintage

Drinking perfectly with little air

2003 vintage

As heavy as the bottle, but great mix of flavours. Very popular with all who tried it. Full of fruit, well balanced, confident and enjoyable. Good five years in it, but going to run out earlier than that.

2011 vintage

Still purple rim and opaque centre. Fruit dominant, juicy brambles, hint of jam. Tannin more evident in the mouth. Some vanilla in the aftertaste. Full, warming and enjoyable, but still quite one dimensional. Leaving a year to the next one.

2011 vintage

We hustled over to the Hong Kong Jockey Club (also needed to recycle) to pick of one of each of their Wines of the Month from Argentina. We rarely see wines from Argentina so we thought this would be an interesting opportunity to sip 'n learn...while snacking, of course. Really, a blend of 50% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, 10% Tannat, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Bonarda? We do not even know what is Bonarda!? Nice, purple red on the …

2011 vintage

Maravilhoso

2011 vintage

Outstanding blend from Argentina. Susana Balbo's winery. Drinking well now, but should hold up for years.

2011 vintage

Tastes like Welches Grape Juice. Lame as can be !! All fruit and nothing else.

2011 vintage

Appearance: Dark, translucent ruby with a wide, magenta rim. Nose: Strong notes of dark fruit and oak with some secondary highlights that I just can't place (slightly green?). Palate: Initial hit of tart acid followed by a healthy bit of fruit (blueberries, black currants) all held together by firm, chalky tannins. Very good structure here. Finish: The fruit follows through to provide some depth to the long, astringent finish. Thoughts: This is a pretty good Argentinean red blend with no …

2011 vintage

Baseline. At least five years in it. Absolutely opaque but no sediment yet. Purple rim. Massive jammy nose with Malbec dominating. Huge mouthful but good acidity; juicy fruit in the mouth. Elements still blending. Blackcurrant is the lingering flavour. Very enjoyable but not complex. Wait a year for the next one.

2011 vintage

There is fruity, then there is having blackberries mashed in your face. This wine leans a little too much toward the latter for my (usual) taste but I enjoyed it anyway. Plenty of acidity to counteract the fruit though, and it worked well with an iberico cured meat platter.

2011 vintage

Generic blue/black fruit, rounded palate with smooth sides, but not sloppy, decent restraint. Some leafy aspects to the dark fruited palate. Nothing that compelling here. Completely forgettable. Impressive bottle weight, though.

2011 vintage

Dark stewed berries, French roast, black peppercorns, with secondary tobacco leaf and licorice. It needs air but settles quickly into a dark-fruited, balanced, right bank styled blend. The Malbec gives it acidity and leathery mocha flair, while the Cabernet adds necessary body, length, and tannin. Not a huge Malbec fan but this is one of the better Argentine wines I've had.

2011 vintage

Opened about an hour before consumption. Had it with grilled meats, grilled root vegetables and salads. Match was good. Wine was full bodied and had nice finish. Taste was very close to Malbec taste although this is a blend. Deep red colour. I will buy again.

2011 vintage

An old vine blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Tannat, Bonarda and Petit Verdot. Opened an hour before drinking. Deep, dark, intense purple in colour. Ripe red fruit and baking spice on the nose. Full bodied, rich, velvety and with ripe tannins. Great length. Super tasty!

2011 vintage

50% Malbec, 20% Cabernet, Syrah, Tannat, Bonarda etc. More well rounded. I guess it is a blend, so…red and black fruit, licorice. Some Uco, Some Alto Agrelo, Some Nosotros Malbec in here too. More new world vs. Brioso (?). ‘A massive steakhouse wine.’ 900 cs production.

2011 vintage

Nice aromas of dark fruit, cassis and some mint on the nose. Full bodied on the palate, smooth, delivering vibrant flavors of cassis jam, brambles, hints of licorice and mint. Firm and smooth tannins with decent acidic grip. Quite delicious with lamb. Good and solid stuff. 89-90.

2011 vintage

Thanksgiving pre party. Was awsome. Drinking perfectly. Much more integrated than the first three bottles that waiting for this moment glad I have at least 2 left.

2003 vintage

A blend of Malbec (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Bonarda (10%), Tannat (10%), Petit Verdot (5%) and Syrah (5%). Aged for 14 months in new French oak barrels and further 6 months in bottles. Only very slightly translucent dark cherry color. Very ripe, rich and quite oak-heavy nose with extracted aromas of sweet, plummy fruit, bluberries, blackberry jam, cocoa, some vanilla and hints of tobacco. Alcohol (14,5%) shows quite much. Very full-bodied, soft and chewy on the palate with ripe, concentrated …

2011 vintage

Rich fruit nose with blackberry to raspberry fruit. Minor herbaceous lift and vanilla oak. Full bodied and rather sweetly fruity on the smooth palate. Sweet oaking and slight herbaceousness. Long finish. Anonymous and oversized - though clean and bright with the oak somewhat proportioned. A pass for my palate.

2011 vintage

Well done. Perfectly drinking. Tastes more European than South America.

2003 vintage

Clear garnet core out to a garnet edge. Clean nose of medium intensity showing spice, dark plum, humus and a touch of vanilla. Dry and silky smooth on the palate with fully resolved medium tannins, acid, body and medium plus alcohol that is not noticed unless you look for it. Flavours of dark fruits, mineral and vanilla with a bit of pepper on the back end. The finish is long with the plum and minerality continuing. Drink now and enjoy …

2004 vintage

Day 1-Overbearing vanilla and wood obscure fruit. Tastes like a wine for beavers. Days 2 &3--Wood dominance recedes and dark fruit comes through. Still too much vanilla for my taste.

2003 vintage

G+.

2004 vintage

Badly corked -ouch!

2003 vintage

Shut down tight. Tannic and closed. Not sure what this will evolve into, but not much upside that I can see in the short term. Inclined to let remaining bottle sleep 3 years at least.

2003 vintage

Susana Balbo was passing through town so brought this to lunch just for fun. This showed beautifully today, it is a lot more harmonious and integrated than at it's youth. Nice structure and the finish is quite long. Entering a good point in it's evolution but i would give this another couple of years to fully develop the secondary characters. This seems to be built more towards long term aging than the more fruit forward approachable 2007 we has SBS.

2003 vintage

tons of cedar on the nose. not typical in finish to most run of the mill marlbecs. nice table wine and perhaps a little nicer than that.

2004 vintage

nice nose of cherry, tobacco and twizzlers. flavors of cherry, oak, raspberry, prune, and pepper on the finish. one dimensional and not very complex with some alcohol heat. unfortunately, the palate doesn't follow the nose - disappointing.

2004 vintage

dark and concentrated. some tartaric sediment at the end. A big wine of distinction which probably needs aging to achieve more polish and refinement. Still fairly hot and tannic after 5 years. A big blend of Malbec Cabernet Syrah Bonarda and Tannat.

2003 vintage

WOW! This has aged beautifully. It starts with an intense bouquet of plum and pepper. The mid-palette is full and rich and the finish is lengthy and composed of sour cherry dipped in chocolate. This is my third bottle and certainly the best. Now, let's see if I can find some more...

2004 vintage

Smooth, elegant, some wet earth. The Bonarda seems too prevalent on the nose making it a smell a bit of glycerin. Otherwise smooth and pleasant, nothing wrong with it at all, just not special.

2004 vintage

Interesting rasberry bouquet- very nice chocolate and cassis on the front, good translation to the mid with a short finish-it weakness. This should hold up for several more years. Great QPR- defintely makes me eager to expand my reach into more Malbec's. Modestly improved from a year ago- settled down a bit.

2004 vintage

Solid bottle of wine but a bit underwhelming considering the retail price!

2004 vintage

Tremendous mouthfeel and structure. Nothing terrible aromatic or overwhelming on the palate. Strong concentrated fruit and well made. It drank more smoothly than most but at $33, not as good as the BenMarco for half the price.

2004 vintage

Good weight and texture, nose fell out of the bottle, slightly acidic and a short finish.

2004 vintage

Agree that this was nothing special. Had one glass and that was it. It didn't make me come back for more like many malbecs do.

2004 vintage

LOVE the nose on this wine, very floral, lots of fresh lilacs, Kind of like baby-wipes in a good way. Nice black olives, wet logs, cedar, tobacco and kind of like a Smokey burning cigar. Really cool and different nose. The color is a very deep purple close to light brown. Full bodied. Explosive pallet that’s not hot but more smooth and a medium time to the finish. Fruity with a strong Welch’s grape juice on the mid pallet. Little …

2004 vintage

Not special - average tasting.

2004 vintage

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Dominio Del Plata, Ben Marco Expresivo, Mendoza

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