Show me the Malbecs. I like Malbecs. Where’s your Malbec Section. What do you think of Malbecs. Lately I have been drinking a lot of Malbecs from Argentina. This is what the average Sommelier in a steakhouse especially, hears all night long 365 days per year. It’s my job and my motto as a sommelier to explain to you that I can line up 500 Malbecs from all over the world or even all of them from Argentina and not one of them would even resemble what you had a predisposition of in your mind of what a Malbec would taste like. Just like any other grape varietal (Btw, there are over 1300 of them and most wine consumers have tried 4-5) depending on where the Malbec is from, the vintage, the weather the oak used and the aging process the taste can vary dramatically from one Malbec to the next. So do you go with all these well know Argentine Malbecs like
Or do you go with the Original Malbec (WHAT YOU ASK??? THE ORIGINAL??? ) YES!!! The original came from Cahors, France 2000 years before Argentina even planted a Seed like this Dark Dark Dark Malbec from Paul Hobbs
What about a 100% Malbec with minerals and flavors of strong espresso…but From Tuscany like Vie Cave ?? Tuscany as in Italy you ask??? YES ITALY
Or how bout a Malbec from a single vineyard in Walla Walla Washington State which is loaded with blueberries notes and fig jam and spices?? Walla Walla You Ask? Is that in Argentina??? No!! Walla Walla as in the Pacific Northwest in Eastern Washington State
Do you get my point?? I sure hope so. This way I can open your horizons into matching your STYLE of Wine not your GRAPE or your REGION of the world with the budget you have and the best match for the food you will be pairing. If you ask me, just grill up some lamb chops and fried polenta and forget the malbecs from everywhere and try a Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara Blend made in the Ripasso style or known as a Baby Amarone!! Ripasso you ask? Corvina You ask? And where is that Malbec you ask from?? Don’t you worry about any of that. Put your trust in the Sommelier’s hands and let him or her give you a “WINE of a Kind Experience” Then you can go to all the Retail Wine Shops and ask every clerk in every store if they carry a Ripasso or Baby Amarone. It’s a start from asking for Malbec, Malbec, Malbec. It’s the taste that’s all that counts!!!
Larry The Wine Guy 