Malbec seems to be the hot wine among red wine drinkers these days. It's appealing, easy to drink, and in most cases affordable. Given the popularity of this grape, the KensWineGuide.com Tasting Panel decided to conduct a blind tasting of this wine varietal. In the blind tasting we reviewed twelve wines and recommended eleven of them. The wines ranged in price from $15 to $35. Ten of the wines were from Argentina. The other two came from Chile and Paso Robles, California. Ironically, the Malbec from Paso Robles won the tasting and the wine from Chile didn't make the cut. All the Malbecs from Argentina were recommended.
You might be a bit surprised by our winner, but we weren't. We had this delicious Malbec at the 2009 Boston Wine Expo and it blew us away. The producer wanted us to put it in the blind tasting against some of the best Malbecs from Argentina to see how it would perform. It performed well and lived up to its producers expectations. What was this mystery Malbec? It was the 2006 Peachy Canyon “Ms. Behave” for $32. It is 100% Malbec from Paso Robles, California. It rocked the tasting panel. The panel gave this wine straight A's and ultimately scored it 92.5 points. I personally scored it 94 points blind and 94 points at the Expo unblind. This wonderful wine is a very dark opaque purple and opens with a light sweet blueberry bouquet with a hint of blackberry and vanilla spice. On the palate, this wine is full-bodied, wonderfully balanced, smooth and elegant. It has delicious blueberry flavors. You can only order this wine at the winery or via their website. There are only 294 cases. Grab some of this gem today. Many of the tasting panel members already stocked up.
Our second place finisher turned out to be one of the best deals of the tasting. The panel awarded the 2007 Dona Paula “Estate” Malbec with 91 points. One of the best aspect of this terrific wine is that it only costs $16 and there were 47,000 cases made. It should also be noted that the panelists pegged this wine to cost between $20 and $30. The panel described this wine as full-bodied, exhibiting excellent balance, and displaying very rich red raspberry flavors. We highly recommend you buy this terrific Malbec for your next party or barbecue this summer.
Our third place winner was the 2006 Trivento “Golden Reserve” Malbec for $20. This wine also was given the Very Good+ nod and was awarded 90.3 points from the panel. It opened with a heavenly spicy blueberry bouquet. On the palate, this wine was full-bodied, smooth, and creamy with slightly tart cherry vanilla flavors. The panel thought this wine would pair nicely with coq au vin or blackened catfish. Following closely behind the Trivento was the 2007 Susanna Balbo “Signature” Malbec for $27. This Malbec was blended with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon. (10%) This was our final 90 point winner. We scored it exactly 90 points. This offering was medium-bodied, balanced, and showed no hard edges. Many of the panelists thought this wine could be even better with some cellar time. If you could not resist, you could decant it and enjoy it now with a steak with a béarnaise sauce.
Our 5th place finisher was the 2007 Luca Malbec. $35 As readers may recall this producer won our Syrah/Shiraz tasting a few months back. Although the panel did not think this wine was as good as their yummy Syrah, they did think it was Very Good and awarded it with 88.8 points. It opened with a musty and spicy berry like bouquet. On the palate, it was full-bodied, quite smooth, with very tasty plum and light blackberry flavors. The panel thought this Malbec would pair well with a big, juicy prime rib. In 6th place was the 2006 Salentein “Reserve.” This wine scored 88.5 points. It costs $21 and there is plenty of it as 47,000 cases were made. It opens with a light blueberry bouquet with a hint of spice and oak. It is medium-bodied, displays nicely integrated acidity, and is packed with juicy red raspberry fruit. It would be ideal pork chops with a fig sauce.
Other Recommended Malbecs or Malbec Blends:
7.) Mendel 2006 Malbec (Lujan de Cuyo, Arg) $27 (87.3)
8.) Ben Marco 2007Â (90% Malbec & 10% Bonarda) (Mendoza) $20 (87.3)
9.) La Posta 2007 (60% Malbec, 20% Bonarda, & 20% Syrah) “Cocina Blend” $15 (87.1)
10.) La Posta 2007 Malbec “Angel Parducci Vineyard” $18 (87.0)
11.) La Posta 2007 Malbec “Pizzella Family Vineyard” $18Â (87.0)
Finally, we tried three value priced Malbecs to see how they would perform. In these hard economic times, readers are looking for deals. Well, we found these 3 offerings to be pretty good. We scored them all Good+. One of them was almost Very Good. That wine was the 2007 Salentein “Finca El Portillo” Malbec. We scored this wine 86.5 points. Not bad for a wine that only costs $11. There is also a lot of it (71,000 cases made), so it should be easy to find. This Malbec is medium-bodied, balanced, and smooth with juicy light blackberry flavors. It would be a fine option to have with a burger with sautéed mushrooms and smoked Gouda cheese.
The other two value options were the 2007 Budini Malbec $11 and the 2007 Dona Paula “Los Cardos” Malbec $10. We scored both of these wines 86 points. The Budini is medium-bodied, soft, and very easy to drink. It offers pleasant light black cherry flavors. We felt this wine would be a nice glass pour option at an Italian restaurant. The Dona Paula “Los Cardos”is the little sister to our 2nd place finisher. It is medium-bodied, balanced, and soft with no hard edges. The flavor profile is a light black cherry with hints of vanilla and light oak. The panel felt this wine would serve well as a pleasant introduction into red wine and particularly Malbec.
We hope this Malbec tasting encourages you to go out and try this exciting red wine. There are plenty of great options listed above. There is also a wide range of reasonable pricing. We are certain you can find one or two options that will fit your budget. You can have your own blind tasting and see which Malbec appeals most to you and your friends.  Malbec is a fun wine and very appealing. Enjoy – Ken
Hi all. I do consider the Malbec grape one of the most interesting second. The heavy and dark note of it has always given me pleasure and usually a lot for the money. It will be interesting to see how it evolves in the next years when other country begins to master it more.
I went to my LWS this afternoon and found the 2007 Dona Paula “Estate†Malbec in a “special order” reject bin. The guy who ordered it said it was the wrong one. I picked them up for $11.70/btl. What a steal. Thanks for the tip Ken.
P.S. I’m trying to get Peachy Canyon’s Malbec from the winery but the shipping costs may be too high.
Malbec is a varietal that I think is entirely under produced in Napa. What a perfect varietal for the Napa appellation.
I’ve had the Donna Paula many times, definitely a great value!
Land is too expensive in Napa and when you can get top dollar growing Cab it won’t happen. The best California Malbec is from Imagery Estate Winery in Glen Ellen. 100% Malbec grown in Lake County on the south slope of Mt. Konocti at 2500 feet. Outstanding fruit!!