There are ways to make Malbec more approachable
Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon (85 percent)-Merlot 2014 is a very nice, inexpensive wine. These can be found around $11 for a 1.5L bottle, or $6 for a 750 ml, 88 points plus 2 price points McD. Ruby colored with plum, fruit and vanilla aromas. Opens to a medium-weight palate with some black cherry and chocolate notes and soft tannic grip. The Merlot definitely softens the Cab. During the course of zoning out on football with some pals and pal-ettes, I explored the realm of Malbec. I know I have mentioned before that Malbec is not my first choice. However, I must confess that those South Americans are mainstreaming those tannin bombs toward earlier approachability. Where normally I complain of this, winemaking to the mean, in the case of Argentinean Malbec I think it is a winning formula. A very nice inexpensive under $10 sample is the Trivento Cabernet/Malbec Reserve 2014. The blend is 50 percent each. It is a deep garnet color with aromatic grape and berry nose. On the palate, look for hints of chocolate and vanillin from the oak. Decent body, plush tannins and a well-balanced clean finish say good QPR, 89 points under $10 gets 1 price point. I also sampled the 2014 Malbec Reserve from Trivento, another fair value at $10. For my money, go up a bit to Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec under $20 for judicious shoppers. These spend 12 months in French oak and 12 months in the bottle before release. The 2012 are dark ruby-colored with cola, violet and blackberry aromas. On the palate, fruit flavors like plum, blackberry, black cherry, some licorice, a little oak-driven spice, fine tannins and big body evolve into a dusty finish with hints of chocolate and tobacco.
Altos Las Hormigas Reserve Malbec Uco 2011 came onto my screen two years ago; I reviewed it here, then placed it on the Grove wine list. Last year the 2012 was even better. Great news, the 2013 Appellation Paraje Altamira is the best yet. If you can buy it under $36 it is a solid 93 McD points. It is not the best value, though.
The Altos Las Hormigas Uco Valley Reserva Malbec 2013 is one of the best QPR buys from the region. It can be found easily under $300/case/12. That means about $28/bottle, 94 McD points plus 2 price points under $26. Read these labels carefully. There is a complete line of Altos Las Hormigas Malbec from single vineyard to generic. Fortunately the 2013 are all excellent wines and fair to great value.
I looked up the winemaker’s notes and learned why the reserva is more appealing to me. “All previous Hormigas Reserva Malbec were aged 24 months, in 20 percent new French oak barrels. 2013 was aged in 3,500L untoasted Slavonian oak foudres [most of these large casks are no longer in use in USA, due to unfounded maintenance issues and health department regs] for 18 months and an additional 6 months in the bottle.” Most of the reasons I didn’t enjoy Malbec as a stand-alone, were dealt with in this 2013 release. Generally speaking, until recently Malbec was more a blending wine used for coloring and tannin addition. Judicious use of immersion of the cap of foot crushed grapes has taken away some of the tannic bite. I’m guessing this is due to the fact that trodden grapes are not crushed as much as those which are pressed or even bladder extracted. This would leave more of the stems and seeds intact, thereby avoiding the bitter flavors crushing releases. To test this thought, I bought some grapes and rested the seeds in my mouth. I then crushed them with my teeth and sure enough, the unpleasant bitterness came to the fore. Anecdotal but good enough for me. In addition, the winemaker claims the 2013 reserve has "slightly lower alcohol at 14.2 percent and higher natural acidity due to the 100 percent calcareous soil [limestone] where the juice originated and an extremely careful picking schedule. Very gentle pigéage [treading by foot] and judicious cap submersion was used during a native yeast fermentation in order to avoid over extraction.” Obviously the winemaker or the sales force were aware that many objected to the “over extraction.” Congratulations to the nimble crew at Las Hormigas for responding to public demand and making their wine more approachable early on.
Email John McDonald at chjonmc@yahoo.com.
