Surprisingly, this is the first Trapiche we've reviewed here. There's only so much we can do publishing 3-4x a week, but that's no excuse when we have three people going for it on here. We align ourselves with a true Gen X pattern of doing just enough on here, and not really caring what anyone thinks in the process. That's us. Anyways, this is the first Trapiche and it's not a bad one. It's 100% vegan, 100% Malbec, affordable and made from grapes sourced in Lujan and Maipu. All good things.
Nose: As you'd expect, a classic Malbec profile of dark berry and cherry. Here, the cassis and violet arrive slowly. With each sniff, the violet grows bigger in presence. A little bit of balsamic showing up as well.
Palate: Approachable with decent texture. Lively acidity, rich tannins. The fruit elements are a bit bigger at first, but with some time notes of oak, spice and pepper all pull up from below. With a bit of time some chocolate adds a bit of character.
Finish: Medium to long. The fruit and spice go neck and neck toward the finale, with a touch of balsamic showing up as things fade out.
Inoffensive and straightforward. I probably should have held on to this for six months to a year. I would not turn down a second glass, but it's a straightforward Malbec that sticks to the plan.
$20