Argento Malbec (2008)

Wine tasting 6

Malbec is starting to become a wine that is appearing more and more on my wine tasting radar. So far we've tasted 3 Malbec's, and they've all scored between 3 and 3 1/2 stars. Not excellent, but OK. If you're a Malbec fan, I'd recommend this wine because it was really good. Not fantastic, but with the right meal, who knows...

Panel's rating: 3,48 out of 5




Country: Medoza, Argentina
Grape: 100% Malbec
Price: 79SEK

Colour: Dark, blue red colour.

Nose: Very fruity aroma with hints of barrel, blackberries, herbs and pepper. Deep dark violet in colour and offers powerful aromas of blackstone fruit and notes of chocolate.

Taste: Very fruity taste with hints of barrel, blackberries, grass and vanilla. Blackberry and black currant fruit is complimented with a touch of sweet spice and leads into a lingering finish with ripe velvety tannins.

Some more info: The word Argento, meaning silver in Latin, is often used colloquially in Argentina to refer to a thing or a person that is quintessentially Argentine.

Masi Tupungato - Pasto Doble (2007)

Wine tasting 4

Here's a wine that was in a single word, weird. The label is plain with a sort-of hand written label and plain green colouring. On the night is was just so, so and scored 3 stars from everyone. There was half a bottle left when the night was done, which does not happen often. I tried the wine exactly a week later and it was fantastic. Smooth and very tasty. This for me just means that the wine didn't breathe enough when we had it. I would buy this bottle again, but decant it about 3-5 hours before having it. Not sure it'll work with a meal though, but perhaps some snacks and a night of playing cards.

Panel's rating: 3,09 out of 5




Price: 89SEK
Country: Argentina
Grape: 62% Malbec, 30% Corvina och 8% Merlot

Colour: Dark, purple Colour

Nose: Very fruity, spicy aroma with barrel character, elements of dark cherry, plum, licorice and tobacco

Taste: Fruity, spicy wine barrel character, plums, dark cherries, herbs, licorice and tobacco

Raza Malbec (La Riojana) (2007)

Wine tasting 1

Real value for money and finally an acceptable ecological wine.

Panel's rating: 3 out of 5




Price: 59SEK
Country: Argentina
Grape: Malbec

Colour: Dark red-brownish | From purple down to a dark red | Dark red | Burgundy purplish | Dark and strong | Close to purple | Currants

Nose: Alcohol, spicy with cherry and vanilla | Slightly acidic, clear, easy and healthy | Warm and sweet | Cherries and a bit sour | Dates

Taste: Cherry stones with lots of tannins | Light with a semi-long taste and tight cherry pips | Cherries with some tannins | Small spices at the end | Liqurice and sweet cherries | Sherry and vanilla | Savoury, bitter and volatile.

An elevated taste

I grew up in South Africa, and have lived in Cape Town from ten years. The one thing I've learnt, is that there's too much wine in the world, to know everything about them all, never mind having enough time to taste them all.

South Africa has its well known grapes, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc for the whites, and then Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage for the reds. There's a lot more, but these are the ones you find on most shop shelves, and the ones I know a little about. At least what they taste like. South Africans for instance only drink South African wine. There's so much of it, that there's not a lot of space for importing wine. So we're not really exposed to wine from other parts of the world. Since moving to Sweden however, I have been exposed to wine from every country that produces it.

I've had wine from Chile, Argentina, Hungary, China, Australia, Germany, USA, France, Spain Italy and countless others. The thing that I struggle with now, is to remember the names of all the grapes. There's so many, and so many blends. So a lot more has been added to the equation, than what I've been used to back home. So I am busy studying up a bit on all the new grapes, wine estates and names, and read all the wine reports I can find my hands on.

Here's one that I have in my Men's Journal magazine this month. The first wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon from Smith-Madrone in the Napa Valley, the second is a Malbec from Calomé Estate and the third is a blend of Shiraz and Viognier from Philip Shaw. We have some Viognier in South Africa, but it's mostly used to add to a blend, but I have not seen any Malbec. It is popular, and I've tasted it here in Sweden a couple of times, but it's not one of my favourites I need to add.

What I have learnt about it so far, is that it is originally from Argentina, and is now grown around the world. It was named after the peasant who introduced it to France and is one of the six grapes allowed into a blend of Bordeaux.