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Escala Humana, Malbec 'Credo', 2023

Red Wine from Argentina, Argentina
by Escala Humana
$54.99
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Old-vine Malbec made in a style that has almost nothing to do with the plush, oaky Argentine Malbec of twenty years ago. The single plot is called El Facha, in El Peral in Tupungato, where clay loam runs over granite with pockets of limestone — the reason this wine tastes savory and mineral rather than sweet. Germán Masera founded Escala Humana in 2015 on the idea in its name, human scale, and Credo is his serious range, the one built around specific sites and the long haul. Roughly a third of the bunches go in whole, the maceration runs a month or more, and the wine is basket-pressed and given two years in French oak plus a year in bottle before release. It drinks well now with an hour in a decanter and has the frame to go another decade.

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Robert Parker

96 points

"Hailing from 85-year-old vines in El Peral, the 2023 Credo Malbec El Peral was fermented in concrete eggs with small portions of stem inclusion and matured for two winters in used barrels. It presents a beautifully lifted, floral bouquet that belies the depth and concentration to come on the palate, a transition that begins on a delicate note before blooming into an enveloping, lush mouthfeel rendered with total purity and a sense of understatement despite the apparent weight. It concludes with a refined and vibrant finish that, echoing the Sémillon bottling, gradually gains depth and dimension in the glass, making for a striking rendition of old-vine Uco Valley fruit. This is a gorgeous expression of the classic yet contemporary profile one can routinely expect from the Credo line at Escala Humana, and it offers a touch more richness than its comparatively finessed counterpart from Paraje Altamira." —Matthew Luczy

More about Escala Humana

Argentina beyond big, plush Malbec: Escala Humana goes looking for the country's forgotten old vineyards, Malvasia, Bequignol, Sémillon, old Chenin Blanc, and turns them into fresh, natural, distinctly lighter-footed wines.

The winery was founded in 2015 by husband and wife Germán and Ayelén Masera in Tupungato, in Mendoza's Uco Valley. Germán has been making wine since 2003, when he was still studying enology and viticulture in Mendoza, and he has also worked with the Mendoza winemaker Matías Michelini. The name translates as 'human scale', and that's the plan: small lots, hands-on work, nothing industrial. The couple work with old vineyards in El Zampal, on clay, loam and sand, and with plots elsewhere in the Uco Valley, including El Peral, and have since established their own estate, La Masía, in Gualtallary.

The wines are naturally fermented with minimal intervention, and the two best-known lines are these. Livverá is the bright, immediate range, fruit-forward and easy to drink. Credo is the serious side, built around specific old sites, like the old-vine Malbec from El Peral, basket-pressed and aged in large, well-seasoned barrels for the long haul.

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Malbec

  • Vintage

    2023

  • Size

    750ml

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Medium Bodied

Flatiron's Take

From the Importer

What Skurnik Wines has to say about this wine:

100% Malbec

From a single plot named El Facha in El Peral, Tupungato, Uco Valley, planted in 1944

Clay loam with granite and calcareous sections

Hand harvested

Fermented with indigenous yeast

Aged 24 months in French oak barrels, then 12 months in bottle

Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Grilled lamb, short ribs with chimichurri, mushroom risotto, or a hard aged sheep's-milk cheese.

Tasting Profile

Dark cherry and plum with hibiscus, tea leaf and peppery spice. Full-bodied but not heavy, with fine, firm tannins, fresh acidity and a long, saline finish.

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