Mid-Priced Malbecs Offer Good Value

We recently covered a few dozen new release Malbecs.  We found that many of the mid-tier priced offerings performed as well, if not better, than some of the higher priced offerings.  The exception was the winner of our big blind tasting.

The 2006 Trapiche “Vina Federico Villafane” Malbec from La Consulta, Argentina was the clear winner in our big blind Malbec tasting.  This 100% Malbec opens with a fragrant ripe black cherry bouquet with a kiss of oak.  The panel truly enjoyed its refined balance and elegance.  The flavors were a tasty combination of black currant and black raspberry with just a hint of coffee and oak mixed in.  The panelists agreed that this Malbec lived up to its $50 price tag.  We scored this wine 91 points and feel it was worthy of a Boston steakhouse Grill 23 filet mignon.

The next best Malbec was discovered by me and a couple of tasting panelists who attended this year's Boston Wine Expo.  We also awarded this wine with 91 points.  The 2007 Trivento “Golden Reserve” Malbec for $20 is a steal when compared to the Trapiche in terms of price.  It is also a very consistent offering.  It is near the top of our selections each and every year.  This year’s release opens with an attractive ripe blueberry bouquet and continues with those concentrated blueberry flavors on the palate.  There is a little integrated black pepper and spice as well.  This offering would also pair well with a steak.

The next winery is best known with our panel for their very successful Syrah program.  However they also struck gold with this year's Malbec.  The 2008 Luca Malbec for $36 received 90 points from the panel.  It opens with a very mild black cherry bouquet with hints of toasted oak and anise.  The panel really spoke out about how food-friendly this Malbec is.  It was described as medium-bodied, balanced, soft, and very easy going.  Add in its mild dusty black currant flavors with a touch of black raspberry and toffee and you have a perfect wine to consider with duck confit or roasted Cornish game hens.

The next two offerings came in with 89 scores and have price tags under $20.  A perfect combination for our value orientated readers.  First up is the 2008 La Posta “Angel Paulucci Vineyard” Malbec for $18.  This is a nice return to prominence for this wine.  It made a splash with the 2006 vintage.  It has returned to its glory with this year’s vintage.  It is full-bodied, balanced, and very fruit forward.  I really enjoyed its very concentrated boysenberry flavors with notes of black raspberry blended it.  This is such a big wine, that it will be very interesting to see where it goes with a little bottle age.  It the short run, serve it with a messy rack of barbecue ribs and enjoy.  Right on its heels is the 2008 Dona Paula “Estate” Malbec for $16.  This offering differs from the La Posta in that it is more elegant with its palate presence.  It is medium-bodied, nicely balanced, and smooth with tasty blueberry and boysenberry flavors. This would be a great choice to serve with big juicy Angus burgers off the grill this summer.

Renacer has been making Very Good quality Malbec for a long time.  Their 2006 “Punto Final Reserva” Malbec for $20 is a very nice expression of their quality.  It opens with a fragrant blueberry bouquet with a hint of toasted oak.  The panel really enjoyed its very tasty lush blueberry flavors with notes of oak, black raspberry, and black pepper mixed in.  The panel suggested pairing this Malbec with spicy food like jambalaya or chili.

Our final two 89 pointers are the 2008 Susana Balbo “Signature” Malbec and the 2007 Tikal 2007 “Amorio” Malbec.  Both are from Mendoza, Argentina.  The Balbo “Signature” for $25 opens with fragrant ripe blueberry aromas and also has hints of nutmeg and coffee.  The panel felt it was medium-bodied, balanced, and easy to drink.  Its mild blueberry flavors were appealing and food-friendly.  Panelists suggested pairing it with beef satay or a pulled pork sandwich.  The 2007 Amorio for $33 was also balanced and smooth.  Like the Balbo it displayed tasty blueberry flavors with some oak and black pepper influences.  This offering showed more dusty tannins than the Balbo and it has some good length.  As a result, the panel suggested a thick rib-eye off the grill and a cigar with this one.

The following recommendations are Very Good and Good + offerings with scores ranging from 88 to 86 points.

1. La Posta 2008 Malbec “Pizzella Family”(Uco Valley, Argentina) $18 (88)
2. Renacer 2008 Malbec “Punto Final”(Perdriel, Argentina) $12 (88)
3. Peachy Canyon 2007 Malbec “Ms. Behave”(Paso Robles, CA) $32 (88)
4. Ben Marco 2008 Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina) $20 (88)
5. Trapiche 2007 Malbec “Broquel” (Mendoza, Argentina) $15 (87)
6. Trapiche 2007 Malbec “Oak Cask” (Mendoza, Argentina)  $12 (86)
7. Kaiken 2007 Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina) $14 (86)

As you can see we found many Very Good Malbecs.  However, only a few snuck into the prized 90 point range.  Fortunately for readers, most of the Very Good offerings are reasonable priced.  We feel that Malbec is a nice summer option for barbecued meats.  Be sure to check out some of these over the next couple of months.

Cheers,
Ken