FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE NATIVO COLLECTION EL FELINO, NOW KNOWN AS THE FELINO COLLECTION MALBEC WITH A SIMILAR LABLE HOWEVER NOW SPORTS AN INDIGENOUS SYMBOL OF A CROCODILE ON THE LABEL. (MARKETING TACTICS CAN, AT TIMES, BE A MYSTERY.)
"It can be enjoyed now and over the next 6 years. It is a sensational value in high quality Malbec. Vina Cobos is the Argentina winery of the renowned Paul Hobbs, best known for his namesake wines from California’s North Coast. Hobbs began consulting in South America in 1988 and, early on, became involved with Nicholas Catena in the startup of that winery’s Chardonnay program. In 1998 he temporarily left his consulting projects to start Vina Cobos with the first vintage coming in 1999. In 2005 Vina Cobos constructed its own winery. Paul Hobbs is high on the 2005 and 2006 vintages. At first he felt that 2005 was the finest year (along with 1996) since he started working in Argentina, that is until the 2006 vintage rolled around. It was, he says, “a mild, moderate year with no problems.” The Cobos wines have several tiers. The entry level is the Nativo Collection. The wines are mostly varietal with a small amount of blending. The grapes come primarily from the estate’s own vineyards, but there is sourcing from 5-6 other properties. They all receive oak aging, but the focus at this level is on fruit." - Dec 07 Issue of The Wine Advocate
