Our Malbec Tasting, Bottle-by-Bottle
Here are my notes on what we drank – and ate – that night.
Wine # 1 – “The wine we disagreed most about.”
Galen: Dark and opaque with a bit of oak around the rim. I’d drink it with grilled or roasted meat. “It’s young and a little green. Not elegant, but fun.”
Bridget: Some plum. A fruity, lovely blend with structure and complexity. “I hate to say it but, I taste a little bit of chocolate.” (She knows the wine-talk cliché I hate the most is “chocolate, with a hint of raspberries.”)
Greg: Elegant and sophisticated. Tannic. Similar to a young chianti. “I think this will age well.”
Francine: Almost a magenta. Too tannic and watery for me. I find this unpleasant. ”The color is the only thing I like.”
The wine: Bressia Profundo Malbec Blend 2006, Argentina, $38
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Wine #2 – “Just a little better than the worst wine I ever tasted.”
Galen: A dark, bloody-ruby color. No structure, but full fruit. Good Welches. A box Malbec. Good if you want to get drunk. “Just a little better than the worst wine I ever tasted.”
Bridgid: Very purple. High in alcohol. A floral smokiness, with a bit of cocoa. No complexity. “Easy drinking, I guess you’d say.”
Greg: A little too sweet and fruity. Very simple and unctuous. “I’d call it sort of slutty.”
Francine: “Like a bodega wine you might drink in the afternoon.”
The wine: Felino, Vina Cobos Malbec, 2010 Argentina, $20
The First Plate: Deconstructed Shepherd’s Pie – a very tender, sliced short rib with bruinoise and scallion on a miniature potato pancake, drizzled with sage-infused brown butter. The stronger Malbecs cry out for a dish this robust and flavorful – pretty much perfect.
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Wine #3 – “A movie star!”
Bridget: “It has a subdued nose. Some black-cherry. Feminine, understated. It has rose hints! Soft and nicely balanced. “It has a good finish that stays with you.”
Galen: The color is a ruby cherry, and the first taste has a hint of oak and soft elegant tannins. It’s sort of light and feminine. This one is a movie star, long lingering in the mouth. “Gentle and well-balanced. There’s nothing out-of-the-blue or obnoxious here.”
Greg: Pretty notes. Elegant and ready to drink. It fully expresses itself. “I can imagine it with duck, mushrooms and any earthy flavors.”
Francine: I love the color. Cerise. It has long legs and a very soft aroma. I like it before I drink it. “The taste is multi-layered with a nice resonance and a full mouthfeel.”
The wine: La Posta 2009 Malbec, Pizzella Family Vineyard, Mendoza, Argentina, $14
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Wine #4 – “The one the women liked!”
Bridget: Deep purple, incredibly opaque. A heady floral scent underneath. Fruit, with brambly tannins. “A little figgy. Delicious.”
Greg: Dense impenetrable purple, strong like Syrah. Good, but not great. Like a plum before it’s ripe. “If we were talking movies, this might be a movie a lot of people like. But it’s not my movie.”
Galen: Very opaque, almost black, a deep-purple. The first taste is a little aggressive. It almost tastes like Syrah – It’s like the best plum you’ve ever eaten. This is big, dark plum, with a little spice note. “The tannins are strong, then overpowered by the big fruit taste and then they show up at the end – without any lingering fruit.”
Francine: I can’t resist the glowing alizarin red color and the complex aroma. A wonderful balance of fruit and tannins. “Soft, but not wimpy.”
The wine: Ca de Calle Reserva Mendoza, Argentina, $23
The Second Plate: “The Roaring 40’s.” A bacon cracker, topped with minced arugula, celery root, radish root, fennel, mustard greens, flavored with white balsamic vinaigrette. Earthy, but delicate.
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Wine #5 – “We all agreed this is a pretty mediocre wine.”
Bridget: This is a simple honest wine with a very floral nose. But it has no structure and it’s a bit watery. It’s gentle, though. With some sipping, more earthiness comes through.
Greg: The first taste is simple, no body or structure. Its probably the French Malbec.
Galen: “The color is deep but not completely opaque. It is light and floral, some structure and earth but not as much fruit as some others. Could be Cahors. It is subtle. Not bad.”
Francine: A little better than wine #1 because it is a little more interesting, a little earthier.
The Ivy’s Ed Berlin who occasionally put his two cents in: “Vinegary, and not in a good way!”
The wine: Cahors Malbec Gouleyant, Georges Vigouroux, France 2009, $13
The Third Plate: Grilled Tuna with roasted red pepper with charred tomato and corn ragout, crispy leeks, and salt-packed capers. We enjoyed the dish and were pleased to see that the Malbec complemented the fish as well as the beef. So much for stereotypes. And kudos to Chef Bryan for grilling our tuna au pointe in unconventional circumstances.
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Wine #6 – “Like a late draft pick: looks good but might start and then disappoint.”
Bridget: This has a ton of structure. You get a mouthful of tannins, then vanilla, oak and black cherry. Similar to a cabernet. “I would have liked this with the short ribs.”
Galen: Scarlet more than ruby. You can smell the vanilla from the oak. The tannins are a little rough and rustic, but it finishes like a soft cabernet. ‘I would pair it with braised meat, like a brisket, but not a rib-eye.”
Greg: Large pungent taste. Not acidic. Needs aging, but not sure. Sort of like a late draft pick: looks good but might start and then disappoint.”
Francine: Dark cherry look. More earthy than fruity. “Would be good, I think, with a cheese plate.”
The wine: Clayhouse Vineyard Malbec 2008 Paso Robles California – $ 18
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Wine #7 – “We each gave it a 3, the only unanimous vote.”
Galen: A dark dusty red, definitely a solid perfect Malbec for everyday. Sort of like a Honda. Depending on the price, could be a good house wine. “It’s sort of like a Honda. It’s not sexy. ”
Bridget: I taste raisins, figs, alcohol, white pepper. Jammy, in a nice way. “It would be, not a star, but a good supporting actress. No, a character actor!”
Greg: Fruity, moderate complexity. A solid B. I have a hunch this is a bargain wine. “It’s a weekday-night-out wine.”
Francine: A good accompaniment wine for general table use. Not a standout, but well-meaning and well-made.
The wine: Tikal Natural Malbec 2009 Made from Organic Grapes, Mendoza Argentine – $20.
The Fourth Plate: Chocolate Pate. Pear and fennel compote with candied hazelnut cream, dusted with cocoa and powdered sugar. This one knocked our socks off. We never thought of Malbec as a dessert wine and yet we all agreed this dish was a good complement to the best of the fruity Malbecs that had a hint of a cocoa finish. We would all do this pairing again.
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Wine #8 – “A big in-your-face Malbec.”
Galen: Opaque black. A full ripe wine. The structure is very integrated. Stewed fruit. Jammy. “A strong up-front wine.”
Bridget: A big in-your-face-Malbec. Strong structure, dense, dark. An adult, grown-up Malbec. “Stewed prunes, but in a good way!”
Greg: Dense, deep-purple, great aroma, big strong vigorous Malbec. A mature ready-to-drink Malbec. “This is a wonderful wine.”
Francine: A beautiful jewel red luster in the glass, long legs. “Surprisingly good with our dessert course and yet I can imagine drinking it from the start to the finish of dinner.”
The wine: Colome’ 2009 Estate Malbec, Vino Tinto de Gran Altura. Valle de Cachaqui, Salta, Argentina, $26
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WHAT WE TASTED:
1) 2006 Bressia Profundo Malbec Blend, Argentina – $38
2) 2010 Felino, Vina Cobos Malbec, Argentina, – $20
3) 2009 La Posta Malbec, Pizzella Family Vineyard, Mendoza, Argentina – $14 [FIRST PLACE]
4) 2010 Ca de Calle Reserva, Mendoza, Argentina – $23 [THIRD PLACE]
5) 2009 Cahors Malbec Gouleyant, Georges Vigouroux, France 2009 – $13
6) 2008 Clayhouse Vineyard Malbec Paso Robles California – $ 18
7) 2009 Tikal Natural Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina – $20.
8) 2009 Colome’ Estate Malbec, Vino Tinto de Gran Altura. Valle de Cachaqui, Salta, Argentina – $26 [SECOND PLACE]
9) 2006 Reininger Malbec, Pepper Bridge Vineyard. Walla Walla Valley – $30