Malbec: The rebirth of a Great wine...

Long known as one of the six grapes allowed in the red Bordeaux wine, the French plantations of Malbec are now found mainly in Cahors--wine region of South West France--where it has been declining in popularity mostly because it has many of the production disadvantages of Merlot, as it very susceptible to various grape diseases and viticultural hazards (frost, mildew, coulure). As a varietal, Malbec produces a rather inky red, or violet, intense wine that makes ideal to use in blends such as with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to create the red French Bordeaux claret blend.

While Malbec has been declining in France, it has become the national wine of Argentina which is the most important wine producing country in South America and in the last two decades one of the most dynamic wine producers in the world. And it owes a lot of this success to Malbec which seems to have found its true home in upper Mendoza. There it produces a deep-colored, robust, and fruity red wine with enough alcohol, body, and structure to benefit from oak ageing. The commercial success of Argentine Malbec has attracted a new generation of wine drinkers--yours included--and has opened other markets, especially Chilean, where production has increased considerably. Chilean Malbec, though, tends to be more tannic than Argentinian and may be blended with other Bordeaux grapes.

Malbec, for my taste is one of the best wines and I can have it with just about anything--which may be blasphemous to the sophisticated oenophile--but it is best with grilled meat, game and robust spicy dishes. I regret, by the way, that when we traveled to Mendoza in 2001 I had not discovered Malbec yet and as a consequence we did miss out of the opportunity to explore the Malbec vineyards. Perhaps, next time...

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