CULLEN Mangan Vineyard Malbec Petit Verdot 2007

Robert Parker Score: 91 points

Reviewer: Lisa Perrotti-Brown — 19131 Oct 2010

Drink 2010–2016

Moving onto the reds, the 2007 Mangan (named after the single vineyard from which it comes) is blended from roughly 1/3 each of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Giving a very deep garnet-purple color, it has lovely aromas of dark plums, black cherries and blueberries with a heady perfume of violets, roses and allspice. Full, rich and generous in the mouth, it’s supported with a medium level of velvety tannins and medium acid. It should be good for drinking now to 2016.

An outspoken proponent of Biodynamics, Vanya Cullen converted fully in 2006 and makes a strong argument for the methods and philosophy with her wines. When I met with her, one of her first major points is that their conversion to Biodynamics appears to allow physiological ripeness to happen earlier, meaning they can harvest earlier and make slightly lighter styles. The prime examples of this are her excellent Semillon Sauvignon blends – both 2009s came in beautifully flavorsome at just 11.5% alcohol.