As much as I'm under the weather and thus feel that I shouldn't have any wine (does alcohol weaken the immune system?), I'm still very curious about wine. What wine can I discover today? Would the Vitamin C from the beverage more than compensate for the alcohol properties as my cure to recovery? Ok, maybe I'll just use my imagination tonight. :)
I saw a Wine Spectator (WS) article that featured Argentina's Malbec. Malbec! I've never thought much about Malbec except that it's a red and usually a full red. What's deeper? Accordingly to the WS, Paul Hobbs (famous Californian winemaker who consults for Argentinian wineries) describes Malbec to taste of boysenberry and blueberry with supple tannins. It seems to have been discovered as an Argentinian varietal while Hobbs was consulting for Catena winery to make Cabs and Chardonnay, when Hobbs came across some old vines and decided to experiment with them. He brought out the Malbec as a surprise during a press tasting and when it was well received, the seed was planted for the varietal!
Since I have the luxury, I decided to do a bit more research. Malbec is originally the dominant grape of Cahors in France. In Cahors, this wine was blended with Tannat, also a very tannic grape. I recall a Cahors wine I had years ago, which was a very full, inky, dark berry flavoured wine, and I had no idea that it was Malbec!
Malbec is also commonly blended in Bordeaux wines, where it would be <10% of the blend. The grape is blended in for its colour, texture, tannin and acidity.
So Malbec's roots are from France! It was brought to Argentina in the 1800's by a French agriculturalist, and was not given much attention until Catena and Hobbs came to play, and it has only recently taken more spotlight in wine glasses. (Of course, the boom, as WS describes it, is also attributed to the low cost of production due to Argentina's economic turmoil and resulting devaluation of the pesos, and the US market's growing demand for value priced high quality wine.)
What can I take away from all this learning? As quality has dramatically improved the past decade, Argentinian wines are excellent to try for a medium to full red with dark berry and plum flavours, some tobacco, maybe even some chocolate. Very approachable wines that can be tasted young, and pair well with meaty dishes and roasted root vegetables (sounds like a winter wine!). The appellation to try is that of Mendoza, the country's largest appellation.
Speaking of Argentina and food, I hear that the best pairing would be Asado - Slow roasted Argentinian beef. Argentinian beef is known to taste "beefier" than other beef, as they are grass-fed and free roaming. More to dream about. :D
I'm definitely on the road to recovery :)
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