Malbec

Today, we are on the south side of the Mendoza River in Argentina to drink Malbec. We know it's going to be worth it and that's a good thing because getting to this area is not easy. In a nutshell, our choices were flying into Santiago, Chile and traversing the mountain passes through some of the highest parts of the Andes (not far from the prodigious, nearly 23,000 foot peak of Aconcagua) or flying into Buenos Aires and heading across Argentina for a full day. We chose the former, got a driver so that we could see the scenery and headed east. 

Santiago, the capital of Chile, while not quite seaside, lies to the west of the Andes about 65 miles to the east of the Pacific. We headed north and then slightly east to Puente del Inca where we exited the car and looked to our north where we could see the snow-laden peak of Aconcagua, the highest point in the southern hemisphere as well as the western hemisphere. Returning to our car, we rode through the mountain passes and settled eventually at a lovely picnic table on the Mendoza's south bank.

The weather here is excellent for growing Malbec, one of the five classic red grapes of Bordeaux. Winters are mild, typically nearly 10C/50F during the daytime and rarely below 0C/32F at night. Summers are quite warm with typical daytime highs at 30-35C/86-95F and rainfall while existent is particularly light during growing season (perhaps 20 cm/8 in per year).

Even here in the valley, we are at high elevation. We see grapes growing typically at about 700-1200 meters/2200-3800 feet, and some even as high as 1600 meters/5000 feet or above. These are the highest elevation quality wine grapes in the world.

This is important. As elevation inceases, so does the intensity of sunlight and the natural stress on the grapes.

The danger in growing Malbec is frost. Until 1956, Malbec plantings in Bordeaux were quite plentiful, but the winter crop killed off a good bit of those leaving most of the major plantings in Cahors somewhat to the east. But, in Mendoza, Malbec flourishes.

What makes the grape so special? It loves the sunshine, perhaps more than any of the other Bordeaux grapes. This is why it is the grape of choice at ultra-high (for wine) elevations. The intense sunshine produces thicker-skinned heartier grapes with more anthocyanin (deep color pigment). As a result, Malbec has a classic "tell" in a blind tasting -- the rim of the wine will typically be a luminous magenta, but the body of the wine will be an opaque purple.

Malbec is fruitier than, for example, Cabernet and much smoother due to lesser and lighter tannins. It's not as dry and has fairly low acidity. So, only the finest Malbec will age much beyond 10 years.

On the nose, we get lots of black and red fruit often intermingled with vanilla, particularly if American oak is used in aging. On the palate, expect the addition of cocoa or cafe au lait and some sweet tobacco.

The finish on a typical Malbec is not long, so it does not handle the red meat associated with Bordeaux varietals as well. To me, the perfect pairing with Malbec is a blue cheese burger with just a bit of bacon for texture and the bacon flavor.