Yesterday, Sandy and I stopped at the Wine Warehouse, where they were having a wine tasting featuring Malbec. I didn't know what Malbec was. It turns out to be a deep, dry almost purple red wine. In fact, it was a bit heavy for my taste. The wines were from Argentina and Chile.
Malbec is, in fact, one of five French grapes that traditionally go into the Bordeaux wine blend, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdat.
The Malbec grape fell out of favor in France because of its susceptibility to frost, mildew and rot, but found the perfect soil in the Andes Mountains.
Drier climates and higher altitudes eliminated the rot problems and Malbec is flourishing in South America. The wine goes particularly well with beef, and is very popular in the steakhouses of Argentina.
As I said, I found it a bit too heavy and tart for my tasted. Maybe if they'd had samples of some rare Argentine beef to sample it with, things might have been different.
[Illustration from Oriel Wines]
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