Argentinian Malbec is one of the great vinous success stories of the early 21st century, rising from the ashes of a nations bankruptcy and political turmoil to heights not dreamed of. There’s more than an element of right-place-right-time, as there always is in the most dramatic of ascensions, yet I don’t think anyone could have predicted just how quickly Argentinian Malbec rose to fame, nor how widely spread its appeal is now.
Malbec is one of the original Bordeaux grapes (Brought to Argentina in the 1850’s by a Frenchman) and whilst it was quite popular prior to the 1950’s, it’s never regained its place and accounts for barely 1,000 hectares in Bordeaux (less than 1% of planted grapes). It dominates production in the admittedly smaller zone of Cahors (where it’s known as Côt) and small amounts can be found in and around the Loire Valley, but when we talk about Malbec today, it’s Argentina we have on our minds, although with global warming an ever increasing threat, we may yet see Bordeaux increase their plantings in preparation of even warmer summers. Compared to the structured, rustic and often quite lean Malbec of south-west France, Argentinian Malbec is a lot easier to have in your glass, and it certainly looks the part too!
Ranging from purple to inky black in colour, the juicy, fruity and slightly sappy nature of Argentinian Malbec is the real reason for its success. You can look at the trend of marketing varietal wines, the influx of international investment, flying winemakers and Argentina’s excellent exchange rate at the time, but the real success of Malbec is down to how absolutely delicious it usually is, even at lower price points. The baking hot days and cool nights of Mendoza allow for the grapes to fully ripen whilst retaining that all important acidity, so the resulting wines are both juicy, powerful yet fresh. The tannins soften until they caress your mouth, with an almost chocolatey sensation on the mid-palate, enhanced further by the use of new oak barrels, often contributing sweet spices and vanilla in the process. Despite the high levels of alcohol, the resulting wines are usually balanced and whilst they can be a touch one-dimensional, they’re undeniably fun to drink, particularly with a large piece of grilled meat in front of you.
The above style of Malbec is what’s often referred to as the ‘international’ style, which is largely responsible for Malbec’s incredible success in a relatively short space of time. There are issues, however. If a grape variety is made to a certain recipe with only mildly different nuances from wine to wine, it’ll be the large companies who win the battle to get on shelves, squeezing margins until they’re the only ones left standing. It also has a tendency to homogenise areas of production. To anyone who’s reading this now, I wonder if you’d be comfortable talking about Malbec from Las Compuertas vs Malbec from Gualtarry, for instance? Or even more broadly, from Mendoza compared to San Juan? Don’t worry, neither can I, and that’s an issue when the world is moving increasingly towards terroir-centric expressions, where individual zones and plots of land have a story to tell through wine. Then, of course, there’s the general consumer preference shifting towards lighter wines with lower levels of alcohol, less obvious oak and a rebalancing of subtlety vs power.
Unsurprisingly, there’s change afoot. Over the last 10 years or so, there’s been a stylistic change in Argentinian wine-making, reflecting changes in the philosophy of wine-makers the world over. More and more Argentinian wine-makers are keen to showcase their terroir and their expression of Malbec, whether it’s on the warmer plains of Luyan de Cuyo or high in the Uco Valley. Harvest begin earlier than ever to lower sugar levels and keep natural acidity levels higher, new oak barrels are being replaced by foudres and concrete tanks, whole-bunch fermentation is increasingly common and soil pits are being dug across wine regions, as producers are excitedly discovering the varied terrain of their growing environment. Geographical appellations are even creeping into the scene, with both Paraje Altamira and La Consulta in the Uco Valley having their own designated GI. A big advantage, of course, of making wine in a New World country is the lack of restrictions placed upon you should you want to make a quick right-turn.
It’s not just the smaller producers exploring this new direction, either. Many of the bigger players in Argentina are leading the charge, in particular Catena Zapata, who remain a benchmark not only for quality, but for a never ceasing commitment to improvement, experimentation and research. If you’ve read some of my previous wine reviews about Catena Zapata, you’ll know that I’m a big fan. Their world class research institute has helped Argentina pioneer better viticultural practices, their focus on microbial activity in the soil has the potential to unearth ground-breaking discoveries, and their wines remain consistently delicious, well made and often very affordable. A relatively new project has been their Appellation Range, seeking to explore the terroir of their vineyards in a broader sense, very much styled on the Burgundian classification of vineyards surrounding certain key villages.
Conveniently, the two wines available in Barcelona through this Appellation Range (there are 7 wines in the range altogether) are from the aforementioned Geographical Indications; Paraje Altamira and La Consulta. I’d love to get hold of them all one day and do a complete tasting across the range, but for now I suppose these will have to suffice. My tasting notes are below but do look at the technical information, the alcohol percentages and the sort of descriptions in my tasting notes. La Consulta in particular would throw me for a loop in a blind tasting!
Catena La Consulta Malbec 2015
100% Malbec from vineyards in La Consulta, a sub-region of the Uco Valley, Mendoza, at 1100m above sea level. Aged for 12 months in 35% new barrels, with 85% French and 15% American. 13% ABV
13% ABV for a Malbec? Well, this should be different. Still a lovely deep ruby colour albeit not as impenetrable as some. Not shy on the nose but the profile is very atypical; fresh plums, damsons and ripe cherries are supported by a herbal, tomato-leaf character, pencil-lead and a mixture of smoke and sweet spices. Bone dry and very fresh, there’s plenty of tannin here and it’s surprisingly firm and structured, with the same mixture of fresh, dark fruits, herbal notes and oak playing out on the palate. This is refreshing stuff and I can’t help but note that it’s probably a bit too young! Very much like drinking a good right-bank Bordeaux from a cooler year. A good wine but treading a thin line with phenolic ripeness 90Pts
Purchased from Vinissimus for €14.05
Catena Zapata Paraje Altamira 2015
100% Malbec from vineyards in Paraje Altamira (apparently ‘Altamira’ is copyrighted by a local grower), a sub-region of the Uco Valley, Mendoza, at 1100m above sea level. Aged for 12 months in 35% new barrels, with 85% French and 15% American. 13.5% ABV
Darker and more brooding than the La Consulta, and more obviously ripe on the nose. Ripe plums and dark cherries are matched by touches of smoke, vanilla, licorice and a tobacco note. Dry and also not without freshness, but the tannins here are more supple and mouth-coating comparatively. This is still restrained by Argentinian standards but feels positively New World after tasting the La Consulta directly before it! There’s a lovely, sappy freshness underpinning the wine and there’s a little more to get your palate around here. Drinking well now. 91Pts
Purchased from Vinissimus for €14.05