3 Malbecs- Because it's cold outside and Malbec helps...

Good evening everyone,

This evening I am writing to you regarding a trio of Mendoza Malbecs I have tried over the past few days.  They represent three separate price points and in fact three styles that I find essential to Argentine wine.  The best things tend to come in threes, so why shou
ldn't Argentine wine follow suit?

I'll distil how I feel about these three wines into very straightforward terms here; the chocolate covered sour cherry; the smoke from the parrilla; the Parker-pointer.

1. Malbec 2011 from Argento-  This is a Malbec which (perhaps inadvertently) harkens back to Argentina's past.  The colour is bright and pretty, not opaque in the slightest but certainly deep.  The aromas are of sour cherries initially and while they hold up, the nose picks up some dusty cocoa and earth along the way.  For me that is Italian all the way.  It reminds me of some lovely Barbera d'Alba. It is delightful and begs for a burger off the grill.  Even a bolognese would suit it just fine.  Its a wonderful wine for a great price.

2. 154 Malbec 2011 from Alberti- I'll go ahead and call it fitting, but there is a remarkable aroma drifting off the glass which makes an impression before I've even properly had a look at the colour.  Smoked pork.  Bacon or sausage or even grilled lamb chops... At any rate it evokes mental images of the grill and coming from a nation so thoroughly entrenched in it's outdoor cooking traditions, this makes perfect sense.  The primary fruit is restrained but the secondary aromas are forward and intriguing.  Smoky and appetising, a glass of this before attacking the Churrasco... there will be nothing left on the plate!

3. Malbec 2011 Primus- This is the Parker wine!  Inky colour introduces a nose of big, bright blackberry and blackcurrant fruit jumping out of the glass alongside some lovely smoky spices.  there is a note of leather but it remains confidently in a supporting role, as the earthiness holds back as well.  After a while the barrel and overt fruit aromas blow off a bit and the wine becomes a bit more Bordelaise in style (or perhaps Cahors would be a better comparison).  It is elegant and balanced and with time a certain gravel driven minerality emerges which even begs a comparison to Graves or Madiran.

All three are exceptional wines for their niches.  They are all undeniably Malbec, but they all fill a separate role in their approach to the variety.  The more I read and learn about Argentine wine and the journey of Malbec, the more I come to love the variety.  I'll leave you with this delightful picture which should remind us all just what Malbec is really for!

Much love,

G

My food photography skills leave something to be desired but this mini-asado was awesome!

2009 Lions de Suduiraut Sauternes

Hey Everyone,

Today I am tasting a type of wine which I don't believe I've ever written about before. It may be considered the most important sweet wine and arguably the most prestigious in the world, but it so rarely crosses my path that when I do taste one I am rarely in a position to commit my experience to writing.

I'm talking about Sauternes; the regal sweet wine of Bordeaux coming from the vineyards south of Pessac-Leognan is an enticing style that is long lived and often expensive, with some of the most sought after producers fetching extraordinary prices. The most famous of course is Château d'Yquem, a favourite of Thomas Jefferson who referred to Sauternes in general as France's finest white wine. As the practice of harnessing the beneficial elements of the Bortrytis was not developed until a later date, the wine tasted by Jefferson would have been markedly different but even so, it is possible to see that Sauternes' star rose long ago.

The wine I am tasting tonight, however is not nearly so valuable nor so famous as Jefferson's favourite, but it does have a few good merits of it's own. First and most obvious when comparing it to it's fellow sweet Bordeaux such as Chateaux Climens and d'Yquem is the price tag. Retailing for around £15 for a half bottle it is a very affordable sweet wine which has the potential to impress as well as please. It is also a well balanced Sauternes, for something so affordable it stands high above the Mouton-Cadet range and possesses a pleasant equilibrium between acid, fruit and sweetness.

On the finish there is a hint of something like caramelised/ burnt sugar, which takes away from the freshness a little, but does not necessarily ruin the experience. I would treat is more as an aperitif than a desert of cheese wine and let the wine stand alone. It is light enough to go without the cheese that accompanies many Sauternes, and not so sweet that it gets tiresome. There is clearly good winemaking behind the Lions de Suduiraut, and the clue is in the name. It is a second wine of the First Growth Château Suduiraut and gives an excellent opportunity to get a glimpse of this legendary producer's style without forking over so much money for the Grand Vin.

If you get a chance, give it a try and hopefully you'll be as pleasantly surprised with this nice little sweetie as I was.

Much Love,

G

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Classic Merlot! Thelema Mountain Vineyards Merlot 2009

Hey Everyone,

Today's wine to try is, in my opinion, an excellent bottle of one of my favourite grapes. Despite the bad press given to Merlot, I believe that it can produce some of the most delightful wines on the market. What is best about Merlot is that it does not have to be expensive to be good, but there are a few examples of world class Merlot that deserve a tip of the hat.

Just a bit of background, Merlot is the principal grape in some of the most important wines in the world, and when vinified to it's full potential, it produces the tannin and acidity needed for long ageing. Important wineries, including Le Pin, Cheval Blanc (where it is heavily blended with Cabernet Franc) and Petrus make the finest examples of Merlot and the best vintages can fetch astronomical prices.

Tonight's bottle is a Merlot from South Africa, in particular from the Stellenbosch region which produces a great proportion of South Africa's best wines. As one of my earlier posts on South Africa's wine industry makes clear, I firmly believe that this remote wine producing nation is very much an old soul in the new world. This Merlot, with its characteristics of the terroir and tannin, is very much an old world style of wine.

The wine is deep in colour with an opaque colouring. Three years on from vintage, you would expect a new world Merlot to fade a little bit, but this one is really quite inky in colour. The glass, as I swirl, is coated with thick, slow running legs, hinting at the high alcohol levels inherent in the wine.

The nose, after a bit of breathing is full of all kinds of wonderful things essential to a good Merlot. There is black berry, rasberry, hints of brambe and cassis, all proped up by rich roasted coffee and dark chocolate. There is a chalky element coming through which I believe hints at the soil of the vineyards, indicating that this wine was made with the intention that it reflect it's sense of place in the fashion of an old world wine maker.

The palate is rich and velvety with few flaws. The tannins are big and pleasing, with a chunkiness that I desire from a full-bodied wine. There are bitter elements reminiscent of the feeling left in the mouth after swallowing some 85% dark chocolate. If anything, the mineral could be more pronounced and the tannin a bit more forward. Basically, I feel that this wine has the markings of a very skilled winemaker who may be holding back for his more premium labels.

I would be very interested to try a more special Thelema bottling. I would be looking for a more bold style, with bigger tannins, more forward acidity, a greater emphasis on the terroir and overall a more Bordelais style. I feel that is what Thelema wants to produce.

All in all, I loved today's wine. I think that, as a daily drinking wine, it is a cracking bottle and for the price of just over fifteen pounds, it is a great value bottle. For those looking for a silky, chocolatey merlot executed with an esteem for class and the goal of producing an elegant Merlot, this is the bottle!

Much Love,

G

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