Blind Tasting of Malbecs this night, 2 flights of 5.
It was a fun evening with some great folks and interesting wines…
We started off and finished with a treat from the host, a 2006 Hope and Grace Estate Malbec from Napa at $65. Fruity, full body, smooth and nice flavorful finish. Very nice. Thank you Xandria! It set the standard for the rest of the evening…
Price range for this tasting was less than $50. Countries represented were Argentina of course, Chile and US’ California. I tried to identify which were local and whether they were indeed fruitier and brighter, more “jammy” than those from Argentina or Chile. I was only correct half the time…
Price point didn’t seem to make a difference. The top 2 wines were in the $25 range. Half came in below that cost, the rest above. Interestingly, a surprise and disappointing exception was the 2008 Argentina Cobos at the price of over $200. The bottle was heavier and labeling was lovely. It came in 7th.
The Blind Tasting favorite was the 2012 J Rickards Malbec, Zanzi Curve Vines from Alexander Valley at $25. full fruity bouquet, lingering tartness yet nice clean finish.
Rated second was the 2013 Salentein Reserve Valle de Uco Malbec from Mendoza at $25. Smooth, with mellow nose, fruity in the middle, yet a flat finish for me.
Interestingly, the top 4 wines in the blind tasting came in at a price of or under $25, out ranking the higher priced better known names and labels. The winner of the tasting was a Ca wine, with the 2-4 rankings from Mendoza.
Nice evening… accompanied by some a nice selection of meats and cheeses, empanadas, tortellini and other nibbles.
Thanks Xandria for hosting!
Thank you, Cyndi. It was a fun evening and I am glad you could participate. I really like the Malbec grape and I like having a chance to taste Malbecs from different places. I like that it can have lush fruit yet still present with good tannic structure and acidity. Oh, and by the way: Don’t forget that April 17th is World Malbec Day! Salud!
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