Wine Snob: L'insolite Malbec

L'Insolite

I had an absolutely fabulous Malbec recently I wanted a glass of wine with the wonderful mushroom we had about a week ago. It was the night Cerinthus flew into town. I have mostly tried Argentinian Malbecs but this one is French and it was wonderful.

The L'insolite was the color of the Japanese plumbs outside my window-- a beautiful purple color. The scent was of musty cherries and antique book leather. It was wonderful. The flavor changed over time. I decanted it for about 30 minutes as recommended, but I also drank it slowly with the food an it evolved over time. At first there was a raspberry flavor with a slightly sour bite. There was also a warm note-- a little like wood) with the slightest hint of wood. There was also a pinch of unrefined cacao. The flavor lingered in the mouth as though it was stuck to the tongue or the roof of the mouth. Delicious.

Wine Snob: Another Argentinian Malbec

Malbec

This wine, the Gascon 2010 Malbec from the Medoza Region of Argentina, was really lovely. I tend to like Argentinian Malbec and this one was recommended to us by the person who sold us the lovely shelves that now hold the majority of our wine. We didn't decide to have the wine until about 20 minutes before dinner so it tasted a little, I don't know, condensed at first. I am not sure what the proper term is, but basically the flavors were less discernible but became increasingly differentiated the longer the wine sat out.

It was a medium bodied wine with a slight tannic bite and the taste of black cherry with a pinch of pink pepper. Instead of finishing, it seemed to vanish at the end of the taste. I really enjoyed it though I think I would let it breathe a little longer next time.

Wine Snob: Alemos Argentinian Malbec

During spring break, a friend of mine came to stay with us for a few days. Her family are old friends, and they nicely sent some wine to the family as a thank you gift (although, of course, seeing an old friend was a gift in itself). We opened the first one at dinner tonight. It was a 20087 Alemos Malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina.

I liked the wine quite a bit. The color was ruby tinged with purple. Overall, the wine was jammy and on the heavy side of the medium body. The flavor was primarily of blackberries and raspberries with a sprinkling of sel gris and a pinch of white pepper in the middle. It was round with a fairly quick finish. I really enjoyed it.

A pictures is forthcoming...

Wine Snob: Argentinian Malbec

I spent my last day at my Alma Mater yesterday, and last night Cerinthus and I organized a little get-together. We had a rather strange assortment of food and beverages. The wine that we bought was a Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec (2008) from the Mendoza region of Argentina. When I was at home, I went with some family friends to a restaurant and had a wonderful (much higher shelf) Argentinian Malbec from the Mendoza region (as I remember). So I decided we should try this one.

Like the last Argentinian Malbec I had, this was a thick, heavy wine that was very jammy (i.e. had a full-bodied berry flavor). This one, however, lacked delicacy and sweetness. Its smoothness was disrupted by a little too much tanan and the aftertaste was not smokey as advertised, but charcoal-y like burnt toast. I enjoyed it, but it would have gone much better with food (all I had it with was some bread) and I think it's strong flavor and lack of delicacy was too much for most of the people in the group.