(2023) A Malbec from Mendoza, made by the family-owned Familia Blanco and aged six months in French oak barrel. The nose has a solidity and meatiness, but does offer a glimpse of Malbec's more floral side. In the mouth lots of sweet, rich and ripe black fruit, plummy verging on raisined. The barrel kicks in with a little toast and chocolate into a moderate finish, where there's a touch of heat from the 14.2% alcohol, but overall it has good balance.
(2023) This Fairtrade wine comes from Bodega Argento, who are also Argentina's biggest producer of organic certified wines. Unusually, it is a white wine made from Malbec. Though uncommon, it's not difficult to produce white wines from black grapes. Colouring pigment is in grape skins, so press the juice and ferment it without skin contact, and the resulting wine will be white. And Malbec is a good choice, being a relatively aromatic black grape, often expressing floral nuances. Indeed there is a floral touch here to peach and lime, a gentle palate with modest acidity making for charming easy drinking. Limited availability.
(2023) What an interesting wine from leading Argentinian winemaker, Susana Balbo. The highly aromatic Torrontés is rarely fermented in oak, and this 11.5% alcohol example was clearly harvested early, which has also acted to temper its floral and herbal exuberance. There's still a whisper of jasmine, but aromas are much more about delicate orange and nectarine, just touched by a little oak creaminess. In the mouth lots of Mandarin orange juiciness, sweet peach juice, and refined acidity, the whole picture light, fresh and flowing due to that low alcohol and the delicate handling of the fruit. A nice way to celebrate International Women's Day in just a week or so. Watch the video for more information.
(2023) If you follow the results of the various wine competitions, then how about a 97-point wine for just £12.95, the award coming from Decanter magazine? This Malbec, from vineyards at 1,200 metres in the Tupungato Valley, was made with the assistance of consultant Michel Rolland. It really is a lovely wine - it would not score 97 points from me, but that's unimportant. What is important is that it is a svelte and luxurious, deeply-black fruited Malbec that also shows the fragrant, violet-scented side of the variety. Plush and mouth-filling too, the sweet richness of the fruit is offset by creamy tannins and pert cherry acidity. Excellent value for money - whatever the points score. Watch the video for more information.
(2023) This organic-certified wine comes from the high altitude Gualtallary sub-region of Tupungato in Mendoza, and spent around 10 months in second use French oak. It's a deep and vibrant colour, with a little violet lift to black fruit, touches of cedar and schisty minerals. In the mouth there's a real sweetness of ripe blueberry and cassis, though tannins clamp down along with edgy plum acidity that gives gastronomic, bittersweet bite into the finish. A powerful, concentrated wine on offer at £13.99 in Waitrose from 25th January to 14th February 2023, which is a better bet than its full price. Watch the video for more information.
(2023) A deeply saturated colour for this high-altitude wine (vineyards at 1,200 metres),l the nose offering plums and spices, a little gravelly background. On the palate there's initial sweet fruit, but quite firm and rustic tannins interrupt rather abruptly. The finish is just a touch rough and aggressive. Down to £6.99 until 24th January 2023 in Waitrose improves value for money from it's usual tenner.
(2022) From the company founded by Susana Balbo in 1999, this comes from vineyards in the Uco Valey a almost 4,000ft, the premium selection of grapes spending 13 months in French oak, 30% new. It displays Malbec's more charming, violet and lifted, kirsch-like aspect beautifully. the sheen of oak is glossy and adds depth, with a little cigar-box sophistication. In the mouth it's über-plush, svelte and refined black fruit flooding-across the mid-palate. But there is backbone and edge to this wine too, that smooth character cajoled and coaxed into something more grippy and intense by big, powerful grape and oak tannins, really decisive acidity, and a smoky barrel-created depth. It's a concentrated but elegant Malbec that certainly needs a chunk of red meat protein now, but which should cellar for a decade and more.
(2022) This Malbec comes from an organic vineyard 1,100m above sea level, with limestone in the soils. 60% was aged in 5,000-litre foudres for 10 months. Vibrant and deep in colour, the nose has the slight lift of Parma violet so often shown by Malbec, some charry notes, and there's a herbal edge to otherwise solid black fruit. In the mouth it is big and rich, but there's a gastronomic chewiness too, rounded by the oak and chocolaty tannins, cherry acidity filling in on the finish. Watch the video for more information.
(2022) Malbec vinified as a white wine. Cool, aromatic thiol notes, florals and greener characters. There is some apparent sweetness on the palate, it opens with a blast of ripe pear and apple, running into peach. The fruit-gummy ripeness is matched by good, quite pithy citrus acidity, and it finishes with plenty of tang and plenty of personality.
(2022) Made in concrete eggs (hence concreto), with wild yeasts, this comes from some of Zuccardi's stoniest soils in the Uco Valley and was made with 100% whole bunches. Super deep and vibrant colour, there is meatiness and earthiness on the nose often found with wild ferments, the palate loaded with savoury dark fruit, plum and a broad stripe of liquorice, whole bunch fermentation perhaps also adding a little firm, hessian character in the finish.
