The only review for this new release so far is from Master of Wine Tim Atkin, who rates it 95 points, saying:
The Grand Vin is always the pinnacle of what Fabre Montmayou produces each year, a structured, age-worthy red of great concentration and balance. Made from a cuvée of Malbec with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, aged in 50% new wood, it has the structure of a great Bordeaux and the fruit generosity of Argentina. Classy stuff.
Keep in mind, this is from what may be Argentina’s single greatest vineyard. Herve Fabre was the first winemaker to see the world class potential of Mendoza’s best mountain vineyards, and this one, planted at 3800 feet in 1908, was the very first he bought. From a family with deep roots in Bordeaux, Fabre treats this like it was a First Growth: a true “Grand Vin.”
This 2017 is simply remarkable. Or as Robinson puts it, “liquid Andes magic.” A wine that’s both “true to its origins” and in a vintage like 2016 transcends them.
This is like the 2009 vintage turned up to eleven…but also without distortion. (To borrow an analogy from Matt Kramer.) Amplitude without distortion. It’s pixelated!