Malbecs From Argentina Fight the Stereotypes

Just finished reading all the comments and no one was discussing these wines! Baffling. Unfortunately I'm not able to find these at my local Utah liquor/wine shop.

Thank you Eric Asimov for including the Catena Alta. I enjoy their regular malbec and have always intended to try the Alta; however, I usually end up choosing a known bottle instead. You have increased my interested in the Alta and removed any reason to select something else.

I was intrigued by the assertion that these wines got better the day after -- I enjoy wine, and have no argument with the idea that more expensive wines often have the potential to be better and more expressive of place. But, I don't think I've ever tried a wine the next day and thought it was better. I usually use a vacuvin stopper to reduce the exposure to air, but generally find wines flatter, less fruity, more tannic, less enjoyable the next day. Eric, I would be really interested if you could explore the topic of when and why a wine might be better after a full day of aeration.

All of this 'palate' business reminds me of the arguments that were used to get you to buy high-end stereo in 1960s and 70s: Total Harmonic Distortion 20hz to 20khz etc. At a certain point, the room acoustics become a limit and then there of course, the limit of human hearing. Same thing with wines. There is a range for the human palate and it changes. Read Anne Fadiman's piece in the New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/how-science-saved-me-from-pretending-to-love-wine

Some of these comments beggar belief. Yes you can buy a steak for a few bucks at a diner or you can spend 200 dollars for a smaller amount at a top steakhouse in Japan. They are both steak but there’s something about it that’s makes one cost twenty times the price of the other. The world of wine is precisely like that. You spend more to watch the Yankees than you do the AAA affiliate and thus extends to almost everything in life. I’ve done news for some of you, the very top Malbecs can stretch in to the middle three figures.

I have Malbecs in my cellar including some from Catena Alta that are now over 10 years old and are drinking beautifully. These are wines with structure that was evident when I bought them and are now showing amazing levels of complexity and harmony. Some still have years of life ahead of them. Most, though not inexpensive, were a good value when purchased. I think one difference between Cahors and Argentinian Malbec is that the Argentinian wines are more approachable upon release, though the finer ones also have the structure of longevity - not unlike some of the Tannat’s coming out of Uruguay. I have 15 year old Madiran not yet ready to drink and Uruguayan Tannat that is age worthy but approachable. Isn’t it wonderful to have such variety and sense of terroir at our wine feet?

Completely by chance, I picked up a $12 Argentinian Malbec at Trader Joe's last weekend. Surprisingly good!

Eric Asimov is focusing here on Mendoza malbecs, which have become ubiquitous. He makes no mention of the original malbecs from the Cahors region of Southern France, many of which are superb. It seems, however, that the finest of these are hard to find or simply not distributed in the U.S., which is a shame. I urge Mr.Asimov to train his insights and palate on discussing Cahors wines. (BTW another designation of the malbec grape is auxerrois.)

Malbecs are pretty much absent from the Finger Lakes. Thirsty Owl (on Lake Cayuga) does, with a non-discounted price of $30/bottle. The winery only makes small quantities which sell out quickly. (as expected, the taste varies year to year depending on weather.) I've been to the winery and tasted it and tend to buy a few bottles if I like what I taste. If visiting around Ithaca, it's worth a ride to the winery to try.

It was fun seeing one of the villains of "Mr. Mercedes" (Kate Mulgrew) prominently drink malbec all month long with the rest of you; it might have been the cheap stuff, but her pickup truck sure wasn't — if that's an indicator...I suppose the more tannic wine was fermented with more of the stems. Pulling each grape off one by one would be the really labor intensive wine — probably $200 plus a bottle (but only the seeds would be left for balance).

I've been saying for years that there is a world of wine out there and a wine for every taste and budget. Every time Eric published a piece, several readers complain about the prices of the wines chosen. There are differences in the taste and texture that are highly discernible to many people that is lost on others either because of indifference or an undiscerning palate (it's just genetics, lick of the draw). I have a middle of middle of the road palate but can appreciate the difference between a mass produced product and a small batch artisanally crafted one. Wines that are more complex tend to open up and improve in the glass as they aerate. My point is only this. If one can't taste differences in the different economic srata of wine, don't pay extra but also don't complain about articles that are enjoyable to people who are lucky enough to have a palate that can tell the difference.

Zuccardi and Catena Malbecs vary in price from $17-$80. I have tried both and have not found a big difference. I wonder why I find Argentinian Malbecs so fruity but the same ones from Cahors seems tannic and drier?

I need to know what she mean by "type of wine drunk by the fathers at the swim club with whom we avoid talking politics,” she said. Please, someone?

I never knew there was a malbec stereotype; I guess I'm the oenophile type who can be quite discriminatory himself when it comes to my favorite libation yet appreciates any grape varietal/blend if it's good despite what anyone else says, estimable critic or not. But, I am glad to have read this informative article, so thank you! Chuck

I host a wine and food series in the Atlanta region and to no one's surprise, learned early on that Malbec, much like Beaujolais, is almost hopelessly stereotyped, consigned in the mind of consumers as bottom shelf plonk. More wine history is sorely needed. In small groups, I and my associates can usually accomplish this. In a lecture hall, forget it. I love fine Malbec, by the way.

Here in Canada my every day wine is an Organic Malbec from Mendoza priced at C$8.00 or so, ( US$6.00 approx) . It is rated by our Provincial Liquor store as 4star which is the same rating as some C$80.00 Malbecs, there being no 5star Malbecs that I'm aware of. Having consumed some of the latter they are definitely not worth the ten-fold price differential and, when considering the major peso/dollar depreciation, can rightly be thought of as extortionate. The author needs some lessons in economics to conclude a US$38.00 bottle of Malbec is a good buy.

I don't drink but I use Malbec wines to cook my tomato sauce. I don't add water I just use the tomatoes, wine and spices. I used to use Merlot. It seems like to me the Malbec brings out more sweetness and tomato flavor. Doesn't seem to matter if I buy a $8 or $20 bottle, it works the same.

It's worth pointing out that for low-yielding wine grown in difficult terrain, and hand-picked, $28-38 does represent something of a value. That type of attention and production from Napa or Bourdeaux would likely yield a $60+ bottle at retail. The economics of low-cost, mass-produced wine are also problematic. Cheap wine is similar to really cheap clothing- there are tremendous pressures put on the producers, and the profits are largely reaped by middle-men. In order to achieve consistently high yields, growers are also forced to use fertilizers and pesticides. That $12 bottle of wine likely has substantial costs that aren't being accounted for in the sale price.

I just don't understand the mentality of some of these people. I am sure they would be willing to pay more for quality cheese or produce or don't think more of paying more for a more carefully prepared restaurant meal, but balk at a 30 dollar bottle of wine? Hey for many people that is not affordable, and I understand that, but I'm pretty sure the people reacting here are not poor. It baffles me why people are willing to pay 12 dollars a glass for really bad wine at a bar, or restaurant but aren't willing to spend 7 dollars a glass for something really great at home. Generic cheap wine is not the same as something made with care from better quality produce, which is exactly what grapes are.