Drink Malbec from Mendoza before you die! Why? It'll be one of the darkest most fullbodied, seductive, velvety, exuberantly fruited red wines you ever drink!
Malbec almost became lost to the annals of viticultural history. Now, it is the most important grape variety in Argentina and mandatory for the wine lists of steak houses around the world.
Malbec was once a key variety in the red wine blends of the prestigious Bordeaux region. At its peak, Malbec made up about 20% of the region's plantings being well respected for the color and body it could bring to a blend. In his book, The Vineyard at the end of the World - Maverick Winemakers and the Rebirth of Malbec, Ian Mount even claims that at top Bordeaux châteaux like Château Latour and Château Cheval Blanc, Malbec once accounted for over half the vineyard plantings.
However, a severe frost in 1956 killed off about 80% of Bordeaux's Malbec vines. Most vignerons decided to replanted with the earlier ripening, less finicky, and less disease prone varieties Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Now, Malbec makes up less than 5% of the region's plantings.
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| Malbec vineyard, Mendoza, with snow covered Andes in background | ©GUSTAVO / adobe.stock.com |
When, in 1853, the grandfather of Argentinian viticulture, Frenchman Michel Aimé Pouget, was invited to set up a research center and viticultural school in Mendoza he, of course, included cuttings of Malbec in his quiver of French varietals owing to Malbec's importance in Bordeaux at the time.
The variety that was a challenge to grow in Bordeaux’s often cool and damp climate flourished in Mendoza with it ample sunshine, warmth, free draining soils, and low level of disease pressure.
Making highly appealing, deeply colored full bodied wines with juicy, plump dark berried fruit flavors and seductive velvety texture that are hugely pleasurable to drink … and especially while eating steak (another Argentine specialty!).