Your shopping basket is full! You have your steak, salad fixings and a French baguette. You will be dipping the baguette in a dip made with olive oil, crushed garlic, chili peppers and cilantro. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? As you roam through the wine aisles, you’re trying to come up with the perfect wine. A Malbec would be an ideal choice!

Malbec is native to Southwestern France in Cahors. It is known here as the black grape and is usually blended with the Tannat and Merlot grape varieties. The Malbec from this area has flavors of raisins and tobacco. The first vines were brought over from Bordeaux to Argentina in the mid-1800s. This is the most famous place that Malbec is grown. When I pour myself a glass of Argentine Malbec, I can smell the blackberry and chocolate aromas, ending with ripe and juicy tannins.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

Chateau De Haute Serre Malbec- Cahors 2010

Tobacco and leather aromas with flavors of crushed plum and dried fruit, ending with firm, rustic tannins.

Georges Vigouroux Pigmentum Malbec- Cahors 2014

Aromas of red and black fruit. On the palate, raspberry and blackcurrants, ending with a smooth and spicy finish.

Sottano Malbec- Argentina 2013

On the nose, I got the aromas of blackberry and blackcurrants, ending with fleshy cherries and plums and a chocolate and vanilla finish with silky, velvety tannins.

Next time you are at Nino’s, be sure to check out our large assortment of Malbecs!

Cheers,

Simone