2018 Casa de Uco Winemaker’s Blend
The more serious Casa de Uco bottling: Malbec, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc shaped by vessels, altitude, and time.
This is the Casa de Uco bottle for buyers who want more than plush Malbec. It has the violets and ripe red fruit you expect from Mendoza, then adds Cabernet Franc herbs, Petit Verdot grip, and a saline mountain finish. At $25 against a $75 winery reference, this is a high-altitude blend that feels built for the dinner table and the cellar.
67% below winery reference
The creative blend from a mountain estate.
The Winemaker’s Blend is not a simple varietal release. It is Casa de Uco’s vessel-by-vessel expression of Los Chacayes: Malbec from two harvests, Petit Verdot structure, Cabernet Franc aromatics, and a small Merlot polish.
Blend complexity
Malbec leads, but Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot bring texture, pepper, herbs, and deeper cellar-weight.
Vessel detail
Concrete, stainless steel, new French oak, and concrete egg are each used where they best fit the variety and vintage component.
High-altitude lift
Los Chacayes gives the wine freshness and mineral tension, so the blend feels powerful without turning heavy.
Rare enough
Only 2,600 bottles were produced, which makes the $25 slash price feel unusually strong for this level of estate bottling.
The allocation opportunity
- 95-point credibility: Tim Atkin MW’s score gives the bottle a clean critical hook without needing a louder sales pitch.
- Better than basic Malbec: The blend layers floral fruit with pepper, herbs, vanilla, tobacco, mineral, and firmer tannin.
- Case logic: A 12-bottle case lands at $300 and saves $600 against the $75 winery reference.
95 points for a one-of-a-kind Casa de Uco blend.
The point score matters because the wine is not just another Argentine red. It is a small-production, winemaker-driven blend from one of Uco Valley’s most dramatic zones.
$25 against a $75 winery reference.
Slash price $25 vs the $75 winery reference, with a verified $35 retail comp also in the market.
At $25, the bottle lands at one-third of the $75 winery reference and still sits below the verified $35 retail comp. That gives the offer two value angles: the premium reference spread and the real-market retail spread.
Compare the reference points here: Casa de Uco official product page, 2018 technical sheet, and verified $35 retail comp.
For the buyer, the best use is not just one bottle. A 12-bottle case turns this into a small-production, 95-point house red for cheese boards, mushroom dishes, roast meats, and slower dinners.
$50 below the $75 winery reference and $10 below the verified $35 retail comp.
Violets, red fruit, spice, mineral, and a saline finish.
The 2018 Winemaker’s Blend is layered: Malbec perfume up front, Cabernet Franc herbs in the middle, and Petit Verdot grip through the finish.
Low rainfall and cool February-to-April harvest conditions helped Mendoza deliver ripe fruit with smooth tannins and fresh natural acidity. For a high-altitude Los Chacayes blend, that means concentration without heaviness and a finish that stays lifted.
Ripe red fruit, plum, black fruit, and a darker dried-fruit undertone.
Saline entry, juicy acidity, and firmer tannin from Petit Verdot wrapped in Malbec fruit.
Violets, pepper, herbs, vanilla, tobacco, spice, mineral, and a touch of bell pepper from Cabernet Franc.
The wine turns more savory, with extra graphite, cocoa, and spice as the fruit relaxes.
Serve at 60–64°F with stuffed mushrooms, charcuterie, lamb, beef, or hard cheeses.
Decant 30–45 minutes to let the Petit Verdot grip and Cabernet Franc aromatics settle into the fruit.
Best for fruit, perfume, and that soft-juicy Casa de Uco entry.
Expect more tobacco, mineral, dried fruit, and spice.
For buyers who enjoy mature, tertiary Mendoza blends with softer tannin.
Each component gets its own vessel.
The 2018 sheet reads like a winemaker’s toolkit: concrete pools, stainless steel, new French oak, long-aged Merlot, and Cabernet Franc in concrete egg.
Blend architecture: The 2018 is 60% Malbec 2017, 10% Malbec 2018, 4% Merlot 2017, 15% Petit Verdot 2017, and 11% Cabernet Franc 2017.
Vessel-by-vessel aging: Malbec 2017 was raised in concrete pools; Malbec 2018 in stainless steel; Merlot in new barrel then fourth-use barrel; Petit Verdot in new French oak; Cabernet Franc in concrete egg.
Serious team: The 2018 sheet names Sebastián Bisole as winemaker and Alberto Antonini of Tuscany as consulting oenologist.
Casa de Uco: wine, architecture, and Andes light.
A modern Uco Valley estate built around vineyards, hospitality, and a deep sense of place.
Casa de Uco is rooted in the foothills of the Andes, surrounded by vineyards and shaped by the dramatic landscape of Mendoza wine country.
The estate’s own language is all about expressing terroir: carefully selected grapes, rocky soils, mountain air, and wines that carry the dimensions of the Uco Valley.
The Winemaker’s Blend is the estate’s creative bottling: a red that leans into the versatility of each variety, each vintage component, and each fermentation or aging vessel.
Go savory, earthy, and generous.
This blend does not need a steak to work. Mushrooms, aged cheese, cured meats, herbs, and a little salt bring out its mineral and Cabernet Franc side beautifully.
Keep the pairings textured: umami mushrooms, golden breadcrumbs, aged cheese, cured meats, dried fruit, olives, and nuts.
Serve slightly cool at 60–64°F and decant 30–45 minutes. The wine’s violet, plum, pepper, mineral, and vanilla notes do especially well with earthy, salty, and herb-rich foods.
Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Garlic Herb Butter
Golden breadcrumbs, garlic, herbs, and meaty mushroom caps give the wine a rich, savory landing spot without overpowering it.
Why it works: Earthy portobello brings out the blend’s mineral and herbal notes, while butter and breadcrumbs soften the Petit Verdot tannin.
View Recipe
Cheese & Charcuterie Board
Aged cheeses, prosciutto, salami, fruit, olives, and nuts make this a no-cook pairing that still feels special.
Why it works: Salt and fat draw out the fruit, hard cheeses echo the wine’s savory edge, and dried fruit mirrors the ripe-plum core.
View RecipeMake this your serious Argentina blend case.
At $25, the 2018 Winemaker’s Blend gives you 95-point credibility, small-production detail, and a richer table role than everyday Malbec.
Aged cheeses, cured meats, dried fruit, olives, nuts, and good bread all fit the wine’s texture.
Mushrooms, lamb, short ribs, roast pork, and herb-forward dishes bring out the blend’s savory side.
Open most now, but keep several bottles for extra tobacco, mineral, spice, and secondary depth.
The value is direct: $25/bottle versus a $75 winery reference, or $300 for a 12-bottle case versus $900 at that reference point.
