A Malbec by Any Other Name is Not the Same

Malbec is one of my two favorite varietals, so I was excited to go to a tasting of four Malbecs.  If nothing else, a tasting like this will teach you, once and for all, that the taste of a varietal changes from region to region.  I liked only two of the Malbecs that I tasted, and would only buy one.

Stella Rose Malbec 2010 VDP-Comte Tolosan, France – It is appropriate to start with a French Malbec, because contrary to popular belief, Malbec is originally a French wine.  Argentina did not create Malbec.  The grapes for this wine are grown in Cahors and produce a very tannic or bitter wine.  The color was a dark purple and it smelled of “red fruits” such as currant and cassis.  The flavor was very blended, light, and earthy.  It did not have the juicy fruity flavor that people associate with Malbec.  This wine would taste good with pork chops.

Altolandon L’ame Malbec 2008 Manchuela, Spain – Spain does not produce much Malbec, so this was considered a rare wine.  The climate of this part of Spain resembles Argentinian climate, which explains the grape choice for the region.  The wine has an earthy, vanilla, and dark fruit smell but has a bright acid red fruit flavor.  This wine tasted neither like the French Malbec nor like the Argentinian Malbec that most of us know. 

Ilaria Malbec 2007, Napa Valley California – By far my favorite Malbec of the four, this wine had been oaked with French wood.  It had a blackberry smell and a spicy, chocolaty, and dark fruit flavor.  The flavor was so blended that I didn’t spend much time identifying the fruit as much as calling out the spiciness and chocolaty flavor of the wine.  On the down side, this bottle was $42, far more than a decent Argentinian Malbec, and I wouldn’t spend that much on a regular basis.  By the same token, the winery does not produce much Malbec, so the price matches the availability of the wine – thereby preventing a drinker like me from buying too much at once! 

Deumayen Malbec Rserva 2007 Mendoza, Argentina – This wine had a chocolaty, plummy, and alcoholic smell and had a silky, velvety smooth feel in the mouth with a spicy finish.  This was my second favorite wine. The advantage that Argentina has over every other region is that the vines for this grape are quite old – they did not get killed by a pest that other regions experienced.  Argentina therefore produces 50,000 acres of Malbec, five times as many as the French.  They also don’t have the same regulation for growing, making, or labeling their wine as Old World countries, so the vintners have freedom to produce the wine in the way that suits them best.  Consequently, the prices range widely and can suit any budget.