The challenge in the 2017 Tonel 46 Malbec is to keep the traditional style but also evolve in the style toward more freshness and better integrated oak than in the past. 2017 is a slightly warmer year, and the wine shows it in riper fruit and a juicier style, with round tannins and integrated acidity. 50,000 bottles produced. This has a little more oak than the Tonel 22 range, perhaps more noticeable because of the riper year too.

Dusty berry and black plum aromas come with a hint of oak-driven milk chocolate. A full palate tastes of generic berry fruits and cocoa, while grainy oak notes on the finish remain in the chocolaty zone. This is a perfectly nice Malbec to drink now through 2021.