CARO 2021 (750ML)

96 WI / 95 JS / 95 DE / 94 JA

#10 Wine Independent Top 10 QPR Collector Wines under $100 2023

The 2021 CARO, 79% Malbec and 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep garnet-purple in color. It soars from the glass with expressive notes of plum preserves, blueberry compote, and licorice with hints of candied violets and spice cake. The full-bodied palate is jam packed with perfumed black fruits, framed by super-ripe, super-plush tannins and tantalizing freshness, finishing very long and fragrant. This is an impressive showing for this joint venture between Lafite Rothschild and Nicolas Catena. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

Deep, fresh and really contained with exceptional depth. Graphite, mussel, hot stones, black chocolate, violets, dried herbs and tons of fresh, ripe blackberries and mulberries. Fleshy and round on the palate, showing polished, juicy tannins that give it more tension, firmness and focus at the end. Long but more pristine. More foudre this year. Drinkable now, but better in two years when it gets more expressive and complex. - ZS, JamesSuckling

Gorgeous scents on the nose full of cocoa powder and ripe, black bramble fruit. Smooth and silky, this 79% Malbec, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon is pure and full of flavour with rich blackcurrant fruit alongside graphite and liquorice but with a lightness of touch in terms of tannic strength. Chewy and ripe yet so delicious and cool in the mouth with clear tobacco and clove spice giving the nuance. It's on the more refined side, clearly sculpted with silky tannins and a long, clean and extended finish. So much style, feels well worked with personality and a sense of class. First time breaking from exclusive sales and being released via the Place de Bordeaux. Winemaker Olivier Tregoat. - GH, Decanter

Intense ruby red colour, offering restrained and savoury flavours with balanced spice, liqourice, graphite and blackberry. This is a consistently good quality Malbec with a shot of Cabernet adding structure and tannins, and is full of pleasure in this slightly cooler-than-usual Argentinian vintage. First time sold through the wider negociant system of The Place, rather than as an exclusivity. Oliver Tregoat winemaker, director Philipe Rolet. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Bodegas Caro, the perfect assemblage of two cultures.

When different characteristics merge together to give place to something new. When the old world merges with the new. When youth matures together with experience. When wildness becomes a bit more delicate. When Bordeaux meets Los Andes.

Bodegas Caro is born from an encounter between Domaines Barons de Rothschild and Nicolas Catena Zapata. CARO vineyard is a plot of 8ha located in Altamira, in the Uco Valley, South of Mendoza. Vineyards are planted between 1100m and 1350m above sea level.

Discover Bodegas Caro: https://youtu.be/tnXfwVp8OeA
The 2021 vintage

Weather conditions

The season started out a little late. We had few nights of frost during spring, and they did not damage the buds. Spring was mostly characterized by wet and cold conditions, which led to delayed growth. Overall, flowering and fruit set were good. During the summer, especially in January and February, temperatures were uncommonly lower than average and without the usual heatwaves that characterize the Mendoza climate. The ripeness period was marked by rainfalls: intermittent showers alternating with sunny days characterized this final period before harvesting.