Tag Archives: Malbec

Don’t forget to get in the red

09 Wednesday Dec 2015

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Red Wine

From holiday parties to New Year’s countdowns, the season’s state of wine is typically all things bubbly. And while we love Champagne, Prosecco and everything in between, we think it’s important to give America’s most popular wine type its proper due. So let’s toast the red-hot reds of Total Wine & More’s top 10 red wines for 2015. Whether you’re taking a break from last-minute shopping, writing up your resolutions or curling up in front of a roaring fire, our list has a red wine for every occasion.

Top-Reds-Montya-Cabernet

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world’s top wine grapes and for good reason. Aficionados love the wine’s rich and delicious flavors. Winemakers love it for the same reason, and it doesn’t hurt that the hearty skin of the grape makes it resistant against rot and frost and more accommodating to a variety of climates. While it first achieved acclaim in Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon has enjoyed equal if not greater success in California, helping wineries like Caymus and Stags’ Leap become titans in the industry. This year, our top red is Montoya Cabernet from the famed Napa Valley. Like all great Cabernets, Montoya offers an abundance of dark fruit flavors, including blackberry, plum and currant. It’s perfect for a hearty winter meal of grilled steak.

Top-reds-Domaine-Loubejac-Pinot

Why do so many people love Pinot Noir? Thanks to its traditionally light-bodied nature, it’s very easy to drink. Its typical flavor profile of red fruits, such as cherry and cranberry, only add to its drinkability. And last, but certainly not least, it pairs well with just about any food, from beef to poultry to fish. The second spot on our list belongs to Domaine Loubejac Pinot Noir, which hails from the Willamette Valley, one of Oregon’s most talked-about wine-producing regions. With flavors of black cherry, raspberry, sweet herbs and rose petals, it is a delight to drink from start to finish.

top-reds-Flichman-Malbec

Rounding out the top three, we chose a wine that is a testament to the winemaking power of South America. The Malbec grape made its way from France to the Andean foothills of Argentina in the 19th century and has been dominating the country’s wine industry ever since. Flichman Malbec Tupungato represents the extraordinary value Malbec wines have to offer. An intense, full-bodied wine, it boasts big flavors of black fruits, licorice and pepper with a spicy finish.

Our list also showcases great reds from Marche, Italy; Rioja, Spain; Bordeaux, France and other world-class wine regions. So this holiday season, stop by Total Wine & More and make room in your cart for our favorite reds.

Why You Should Try Malbec

17 Wednesday Apr 2013

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Argentina’s Malbec grape is a “seriously thrilling star” that consumers embrace for its “damsony,” soft and juicy profile, says Oz Clarke in Grapes and Wines. Indeed, it’s big enough to enjoy with a charred steak or hearty stew, but it’s also silky and approachable enough to appreciate on its own or with lighter fare.

Once a major component of great Bordeaux blends, Malbec now thrives on a far-off continent thanks to a series of both unfortunate and serendipitous events. In the mid-19th century, Malbec vines found their way to vineyards in Mendoza, Argentina, not too long before phylloxera—a root-eating aphid that attacks grape vines—arrived in Europe on imported American vines in the late 1800s. The unadapted European grape vines—Malbec included—began to die out around France until farmers grafted them to phylloxera-resistant American rootstock.andes_malbec

Argentine winemaker Laura Catena of Bodgas Catena Zapata explains in her book, Vino Argentino, that Malbec performed poorly on American rootstock because it produced overly vigorous plants whose fruit did not ripen well. Thanks to the isolated nature of Andes Mountain vineyards, phylloxera never developed in Argentina, allowing Malbec there to thrive on its own roots. Today, these high-altitude vineyards, with their relatively cool but exceedingly sunny weather, provide the ideal environment for producing opulent Malbec wines that possess soft, ripe tannins with plum and black fruit profiles suitable for either oak or stainless steel aging.

While Bordelaise winemakers mostly abandoned the grape, other French winemakers southeast of Bordeaux in Cahors mastered the art of growing grafted Malbec. Today, their wines offer drinkers a more rustic style with chalky tannins that Cahors winemakers note typically exhibit “violet, black currant, cherry, licorice, vanilla, menthol and truffle.” In addition, Malbec grows in France’s Loire Valley, where winemakers, who call it “Cot,” blend it with other grape varieties.

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Consumers will find many value-priced and premium Malbec wines within the large Total Wine & More selection. The more affordable versions are perfect for everyday sipping and enjoyment with simple meals such as pizza, pasta and burgers, whereas the premium, often oak-aged versions offer a superb match with hearty beef, lamb, stews and other rich dishes. Check out Laura Catena’s food pairing advice on her Web site MalbecLife.com as well as food pairing suggestions at CahorsMalbec.com.