Silkwood Estate The Walcott Pemberton Malbec 2018

Always fascinating to see what crosses the tasting bench – it gives an early insight into just what the hot grapes are. And lately, there has been a pleasing increase in malbec. This is a single vineyard example from the Western Australian region of Pemberton and looks perfectly at home there. It spent 15 months in French oak, 25% of which was new. 

The colour is a deeply vibrant purple. This is a well structured wine with flavours of plums, warm earth, mulberries, chocolate and some briary notes. There are also hints of salami and bacon fat. There are firm and powerful tannins here too. This good grip extends on the very long finish. Mid-weight intensity, lots of flavour here, especially chocolate, which just keeps emerging. Youthful but it should age very well for at least 6 to 8 years.