I recently stopped by WCA for a Saturday Malbec tasting. The event offered a nice selection of Malbecs at various pricepoints and I found much to recommend from the selection.
The 2006 Dona Paula Malbec Estate offers a delightful nose of bright cherry and other red fruits as well as a little smoke. It is very nicely balanced albeit a little restrained and offers light-moderate tannins in what is very obviously a young wine. It is fairly basic but would make an very good entry into a weeknight easy drinking red rotation and at ~$13 it offers solid QPR.
La Posta offers some additional complexity at just a few bucks more per bottle. Their 2006 La Posta Cocina Blend is a blend of 60% Malbec, 20% Syrah and 20% Bonarda and offers a much more ruby-driven visual in glass than the Dona Paula with a sweet raspberry syrup nose. It is a little weak on the front palate but offers a tasty flavor profile overall with moderate tannins and a nice pleasing finish. The 2006 La Posta Malbec Angel Paulucci single vineyard surprisingly looks almost identical in glass but offers much more tart cherry flavors and violets with a touch more tannins and a good finish. The wine notes indicate that this wine was aged in 100% French oak but only 20% new oak. This sort of new oak restraint is just the sort of thing likely to appeal to my palate and this wine delivers. Parker gave both of these wines 90 points and I cannot say I disagree with his assessments. The Cocina Blend sells for about $15/bottle and the Paulucci for about $16.
The last two wines reside in the more premium $25+ pricerange. The 2006 Susana Balbo Malbec is the higher end offering from the famed Argentine woman winemaker and comes in at about $27. As much as I like her Torrontés, I was a bit disappointed with this wine. The profile is very Cabernet-esque (supposedly 10% Cabernet was used in the blend) with flavors of black cherry and cassis but the new oak is too overt on the nose and it is very cedary and medicinal on the tongue, being reminiscent of some lesser-quality Left Bank Bordeaux I have tried. At this price, I would have to give this wine a pass based on how it is drinking now. Parker gave this wine 91 points, an assessment I will have to respectfully disagree with.
For just a few bucks more is the 2006 Tikal Amoriỏ Malbec. This wine possesses the velvety purple hues of youth and also offers a sharp nose of cassis, black cherry, smoke and faint cedar. The balance of this wine is fantastic and it says “adios” with a very nice finish. At ~$30/bottle, I recommend that fans of more expensive California Cabernets seek this wine out as a possible at least occasional alternative.
The 2006 Dona Paula Malbec Estate offers a delightful nose of bright cherry and other red fruits as well as a little smoke. It is very nicely balanced albeit a little restrained and offers light-moderate tannins in what is very obviously a young wine. It is fairly basic but would make an very good entry into a weeknight easy drinking red rotation and at ~$13 it offers solid QPR.
La Posta offers some additional complexity at just a few bucks more per bottle. Their 2006 La Posta Cocina Blend is a blend of 60% Malbec, 20% Syrah and 20% Bonarda and offers a much more ruby-driven visual in glass than the Dona Paula with a sweet raspberry syrup nose. It is a little weak on the front palate but offers a tasty flavor profile overall with moderate tannins and a nice pleasing finish. The 2006 La Posta Malbec Angel Paulucci single vineyard surprisingly looks almost identical in glass but offers much more tart cherry flavors and violets with a touch more tannins and a good finish. The wine notes indicate that this wine was aged in 100% French oak but only 20% new oak. This sort of new oak restraint is just the sort of thing likely to appeal to my palate and this wine delivers. Parker gave both of these wines 90 points and I cannot say I disagree with his assessments. The Cocina Blend sells for about $15/bottle and the Paulucci for about $16.
The last two wines reside in the more premium $25+ pricerange. The 2006 Susana Balbo Malbec is the higher end offering from the famed Argentine woman winemaker and comes in at about $27. As much as I like her Torrontés, I was a bit disappointed with this wine. The profile is very Cabernet-esque (supposedly 10% Cabernet was used in the blend) with flavors of black cherry and cassis but the new oak is too overt on the nose and it is very cedary and medicinal on the tongue, being reminiscent of some lesser-quality Left Bank Bordeaux I have tried. At this price, I would have to give this wine a pass based on how it is drinking now. Parker gave this wine 91 points, an assessment I will have to respectfully disagree with.
For just a few bucks more is the 2006 Tikal Amoriỏ Malbec. This wine possesses the velvety purple hues of youth and also offers a sharp nose of cassis, black cherry, smoke and faint cedar. The balance of this wine is fantastic and it says “adios” with a very nice finish. At ~$30/bottle, I recommend that fans of more expensive California Cabernets seek this wine out as a possible at least occasional alternative.
