2018 Kaiken Mai The First Malbec

68.95 56.98
Type of Wine Red
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Appellation Mendoza (Appellation)
Winery Kaiken
Year 2018
Grape Malbec
Content (Alc) 0.75 ltr (14.5%)
Drink window 2022 - 2035
View all characteristics Discover more about this wine

The MAI is made with grapes from the vineyards of Vistalba (Mendoza). This area is one of the oldest local vineyards and is considered one of Argentina's best terroirs for high quality premium wines. The vineyard is over 100 years old. Yields are naturally low and gives highly concentrated grapes. This unique vineyard is managed according to age-old organic 100% organic and biodynamic principles. This fine 80-year-old vineyard gives excellent wines elegance, structure and strength.

Grapes were hand-picked and transported in 15 kg bins to protect the berries and guarantee the quality of the fruit. After this must was fermented in small tanks under optimal conditions to preserve the character and qualities of the vineyard. Alcoholic fermentation was performed at 25°C-30°C for approximately 7 days followed by post-fermentative maceration for approximately 20 days, depending on each specific batch. Finally, all wine was aged in new French oak barrels for 18 months.

The MAI Malbec has a surprisingly deep red color with attractive purplish hues. On the nose it shows fruity aromas of plums and sour cherries with spicy notes of tobacco and cinnamon - from the grapes and the aging of the French oak. This elegant and complex wine with soft tannins that linger on the palate is ready to drink. Because of the great structure and volume, this wine has an age of 15 years or more.

The Kaiken Mai The First Malbec has received one of the highest ratings ever with a whopping 96/100 James Suckling and according to Tim Atkins: The Best of Argentina (96/100)

Winery Kaiken

The Caiquén is a wild goose from Patagonia that flies over the Andes between Argentina and Chile. Entering into this cross-border flight presents the Caiquén with a major challenge. Like the Caiquén, Aurelio Montes, founder of the Chilean winery Bodega Montes, made several trips through the Andes until he rediscovered Mendoza in 2000 as a generous land full of beautiful vineyards and hard-working people. In 2001, he realized that Mendoza was the perfect place to make Kaikén wines, wines that embody everything a great wine should be.

Read more under the heading winery.

Vineyard for 2018 Kaiken Mai The First Malbec

Kaiken is the Argentinian branch of the Chilean wine company Montes. They mainly make red wine where the Malbecs are powerful, but more sophisticated than most Malbecs from Argentina. Kaiken now belongs to the top of Argentina (and actually South America) with Catena Zapata. The wines excel in elegance and unlike many South American wines, the style is much more Old World.

Argentinian Kaiken was founded in 2002 by the Chilean wine producer Aurelio Montes. They have three vineyards in Mendoza and one in Salta (before the Torrontès). The three vineyards in Mendoza vary in height from 950 to 1250 meters. There are vineyards in pergola form, with wire guidance and as a gobelet (free-standing shrub). There are minor differences in the soils, but the base is in all cases an alluvial soil due to erosion of the Andes. Some of the vineyards are cultivated biodynamically. The wines are made in Vistalba in a beautiful classic building from 1920 that was bought in 2007. The company in Argentina is managed by Aurelio Montes jr, who is also the chief winemaker. 'Kaiken' is the Mapuche Indian word for a Patagonian wild goose, which regularly travels over the Andes mountains, so as Montes crossed from Chile to Argentina.

More Information
Type of Wine Red
Country Argentina
Region Mendoza
Appellation Mendoza (Appellation)
Winery Kaiken
Grape Malbec
Biological certified No
Natural wine No
Vegan No
Year 2018
Drinking as of 2022
Drinking till 2035
Alcohol % 14.5
Alcohol free/low No
Content 0.75 ltr
Oak aging Yes
Sparkling No
Dessert wine No
Closure Cork
James Suckling rating 96
Tasting Profiles Complex, Dry, Aged on wood, Powerful, Red fruit, Tannines, Full
Drink moments Indruk maken, Lekker luxe
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