Lot 544
2023 Chalk Hill Malbec

$80/bottle under the original label

Lot 544 is a 100% block-select, single-vineyard, no-expense-spared Malbec from a Sonoma producer that has garnered a cult following for crafting small batches of extremely high-caliber reds. With productions tiny and distribution nonexistent, this is definitely one of those “if you know, you know” releases that’s adored by collectors since it doesn’t hit the open market. Unabashedly bold and expressive yet impressively refined, it channels the elegance of Reserva-tier offerings from Argentina’s greatest estates.

The nose opens with a plush medley of blackberry, sugar plum, and a flicker of red chili flake underpinned by mocha. The palate boasts exceptional structure and a deft balance of barrel-driven sweet tobacco and chocolate, which coalesce with concentrated dark fruit. Barrel spice and medium acidity lends lift and precision. The deeply satisfying finish is long and robust, with layers of barrel-influenced baking spices and vanilla unfurling to reveal dark cherries and blackberry underneath (an enticing preview of what’s to come with some bottle age) before returning to an umami vanilla blossom.