2019 Felino Chardonnay

16/20 points - Jancis Robinson

Since visiting Mendoza for the first time in 1989, Paul Hobbs has been making fine wine from this superb high-altitude terrain. In 1998 he founded Vina Cobos, and since then has been making some of Argentina's greatest wines - Paul was the first to convince America of Malbec's potential from South America - you can't get better than that!

For the Felino wines, Cobo's looks for freshness and fruity expression. Made from grapes sourced from different regions in Mendoza,they represent the entrance to the superb wines from this estate. We first came across them about six-seven years ago, and every year they have come back better than before.
Just recently, Paul has handed winemaking duties for Felino over to Andros Vignoni, who has concentrated on envisaging a more European style: fresher fruit, less oaking. The results are delicious: a tropical nose of mangoes, pineapples and citrus. On the palate, flavours of green apple, peach, and subtle notes of vanilla dance and scintillate. This is clean, serious and sharp, with good freshness and minerality and with very little influence from the oak.