Malbec

This was the year the fires hit California.  It is important to be careful due to that but there were no notes of fire tain here.  It is a well priced blend that is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petite Sirah, 7% Malbec, 5% Merlot, and 1% Syrah.  The wine is ruby at the rim of the glass with core of purple.  Mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, cassis, char, and slight camphor.  With air, slight cedar emerges.  On the palate, this is soft and accessible.  A hint of sweetness.  Slightly drying tannins.  A moderate finish.  This is a very nice wine for immediate drinking.  It works w

This is an excellent value in red wine.  It is a blend of 80% Merlot with the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, dark chocolate and a hint of spice.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has nice black cherry fruit with some depth.  Light tannins.  Underlying earthiness.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This drinks well on its own and should be great with poultry dishes or even a burger.  It should be consumed over the next five to seven years.  While wine prices vary at the time of this writing, this wi

  This is a blend of 87.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec and 1.5% Petit Verdot.  It is a big wine that seems like it will still get better with cellaring.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, dust, and an interesting citrus quality.  On the palate, this is very concentrated.  Notes of cassis, some dark chocolate and orange peel (?) come thru.  It is deep with firm tannins that will need time to open.  Long finish.  This needs another five to ten years of cellaring and should be good for ten to twelve after that.  Right now, it should be given an eight h

This is a multi-vintage, multi grape cuvee.  It is released on a regular basis, this being the 13th iteration.  It is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah, 12% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Mourvedre.  This is really quite good and an excellent value.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose is dusty and warm with nice black cherry fruit.  On the palate, the black cherries come thru along with some sour cherries.  Medium tannins.  Moderate finish.  This rinks quite easily and would be a nice choice for parties.  It will go with all but the lightest of foods.  Drink over the next couple of y

I am not a huge Malbec fan in general but if I were, this is not a style of Malbec I would choose.  So, take this review with a grain of salt.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cherries, slight plums and green bell pepper.  On the palate, there is an overt acidity to this wine that seems misplaced.  It has a nice full bodied texture.  Tart cherry fruit with a green bell pepper back bone.  Clipped finish.  I tried this at a local wine shop and some of the other patrons seemed to enjoy this more than I.  It isn't going to get any better so drink now.  

This is an unusual wine.  It takes some of the Rose this winery produces and hard presses the grapes (presumably after the juice intended for the Rose is separated).  Hard pressing is basically squeezing to get a bit more juice.  This is typically tannic.  The difference is they then adds in Malbec juice to the wine.  The wine is barrel fermented and then aged for a bit in stainless steel.  The result is a young, lighter wine that is not too unlike a Beaujolais.  It proved quite popular at our www.Intowine.com tasting.  We liked this a bi

From the Cahors region of southwest France.  In Cahors, Malbec is known as  "Côt", "Côt Noir" or "Auxerrois", so the fact that the label says Malbec tells us a lot about the intended market for this wine.  Not to mention that in other than in Alsace, naming a varietal on the label, is usually not a good sign.  Of course, its what is in the bottle that count.  Ruby in color.  The nose is dusty with cherry hard candy.  On the palate, this has sour cherry candy with slight plums.  Light tannins.  Good acidity.  A short to medium finish.  This is made to drink now, with BBQ or on its own.  Noth

This is a relatively inexpensive and widely distributed Malbec that show up on a lot of wine lists.  I prefer their Syrah but the Malbec is functional and not a bad choice when looking to not spend a lot of money.  Purple in color.  The nose is dusty with some plums and a bit of sweet alcohol.  On the palate, the plums come thru with some black cherry notes.  It is a touch warm.  Nice finish.  Works well with pastas, meat and pizza.  These drink well for about five years from vintage.  

This is a blend of 80% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Ancellotta.  It is a big wine made from Estate grown fruit in Paraje Altamira.  It is a big wine that clocks in at 14% Abv although it seems a bit higher.  It is also delicious and makes a great drink when sitting around with friends.  Deep purple in color.  The nose has plums, some black raspberries, spice and slight coffee bean.  On the palate, this has medium tannins.  It is thick and voluptuous.  Plums and cassis flavors with some oak.  Slightly ripe/sweet on the finish.  A fun wine that should be consumed in the next few yea

This winery has recently been sold to new owners.  They are one of the largest producers in South Africa having opened in 1989.  Mostly known for their Chenin Blanc, this red is affordable and a great value too.  It is a blend of 32% Cabernet Franc, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, and 7% Malbec.  The new label is plain and classy, but I always liked the old one with a picture of a dog.  A note for the 2013 is on this site and features that label.  The wine itself is drinking very well.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has cassis, plums, baking spice and slight tobacco not