Malbec vs. Malbec

Tonight, for the first time, it's a fair fight. (I think.) Not only am I comparing one Malbec to another, but they are both freshly opened.

First we have Don Rodolfo's 2007 Malbec, which happens to have an annoyingly hard-to-read sideways label, but I have gone through the great effort of reading it for you to find that this wine is described as "big, rich, and deeply flavored, with notes of red berries, cassis, and plums." Sounds great, but of course I know that's the whole point of putting a description on the label--to make the wine sound good. I had to look up "cassis"--it's a synonym for "black currants," which I have heard of before. I hope you are relieved.

Next we have High Note 2008 Malbec, with a "deep violet hue, smooth velvety texture and vibrant fruit aromas." A slightly more generic description, but still sounds like something I might like.

So here is what I think of the two wines. The Rodolfo is a very deep brownish red, and the High Note looks almost identical except it is slightly more purple. I really can smell red berries, maybe strawberries, in the Rodolfo, and it makes me want to eat cheese with it which isn't such a good thing at this time of night. The High Note smells more bright and green. The Rodolfo is smooth and dry and spicy, and has a slight coffee-like aftertaste; the High Note really does feel velvety (just how suggestible am I?), and is even more dry, but is a little bit bland.

I think I prefer the Rodolfo, but I may need to do a blind test next time because I have a feeling I was swayed by the yummier label description. I also wonder how much difference the vintage makes between these two wines. Would the High Note be more complex and more enjoyable next year? Too bad I'll never know.

Here's something interesting about Malbec: Argentina (where both of these wines originated) is very well-suited to growing the Malbec grape, due to its high altitude, intense sunlight, cool temperatures and dry atmosphere.

Tonight I have a buddy!

My husband is off work tonight, so I decided to share my wine with him while I do my new tasting. We have the previous Alamos Malbec, Rex Goliath Pinot Noir, and boxed Merlot along with a boxed Cabernet Sauvignon which I have not yet tried.

First I must mention that I recently read a book which I really enjoyed: "Swallow This" by Mark Phillips. One of the things I learned from it is that I may not be getting these bottled wines at their best for these tasting flights. Apparently wine can become "off" in just a few days after uncorking. Well, to be honest, I've never noticed this. Sure, after a few weeks or certainly months an opened bottle of wine will go bad. But just a few days? I'm not too worried about it.

So let's start with the Cab, since it's new to me. It smells a little bit green and has a somewhat tart taste (which I guess I'm supposed to call acidic). Hud thinks it tastes watered down and bland, but I'm not getting that at all. It's not bad. I'd buy it again.

The Merlot kind of smells like vanilla, but not like a cupcake or anything. It's a little more sour than the Cab. Hud says it tastes more dry and tart. I'm not really noticing that it is any more dry than the others. It has a slightly different flavor from the Cab, but I think they're about equal.

OK, maybe the Malbec has turned by now. There was a lot of sediment in the bottom of the bottle and it tastes a little odd. Maybe it's unfair to compare it to the others, because I'm afraid it's been exposed to air for too long and it's not at its best. Hud says it tastes less tart, but at this point I'm not sure how valuable his opinion is. It does taste a little weird, though.

The Pinot Noir is kind of bland. I can smell grapes (imagine that!) and it tastes like beer. Hud thinks it would be better with a little Jack Daniels in it. Of course, Hud thinks just about everything would be better with a little Jack Daniels in it. I didn't try that.

Hud's final prouncement was, "I don't know. They all taste like crap." I don't know what's wrong with him, because I say they're all pretty good. My least favorite is the Rex Goliath, but even that is decent. I think next time I'll just keep my wine to myself. No sense in wasting it on someone who doesn't appreciate it!

Alamos Malbec 2008 Mendoza, Argentina

I found another good one! It's a deep, dark, purplish red, and it smelt of elderberries. (Not really. I have no idea what elderberries smell like, actually. I just had a small Monty Python moment). I'm having a little bit of trouble smelling this wine, as I was given a very nice-smelling hand soap for Christmas by my good friend Margaret, and that's sort of all I can smell. I tried holding the goblet at the base and nearly poured the wine up my nose. So for tonight I'm just going to have to go with a combination of "it smells good" and "it smells like wine." Which is the same thing, really.

I seem to have lost all my descriptors tonight, because all I can think to add is "it tastes great too." It's a little acidic, but not in a bad way, and has a great flavor. Nice legs, too.

Time for another experiment!

This time it's a Malbec, the Lindemans Pinot Noir, and a boxed Merlot. The Malbec is a Don Miguel Gascon 2008 from Argentina's Mendoza wine region. I did another blind taste test and here is what I found:

First, I was not able to guess which wine was which. I had never tasted the Malbec before, but I got it and the Pinot Noir mixed up. (That means I guessed the Merlot correctly, though!) All three wines were very similar in color, with the Malbec perhaps a slightly more purplish dark red. The nose varied very slightly between the three, though I liked the smell of the Malbec the best--it almost had a hint of vanilla and nutmeg hiding in it. I had trouble describing the smell of the Merlot; all I could come up with was buttery garlic, but that's not quite right. The Pinot smelled somewhat sour (but not in a bad way), with a strong smell of alcohol, and a greenish, almost asparagus-like odor. All three wines had a very smooth taste and for some reason even seemed almost bland to me, which is odd because I normally think of Pinot Noirs as quite spicy. The most interesting flavor I noticed was that the Malbec had a distinctly tea-like taste, which is all the more odd because I originally found this Pinot Noir to have a tea flavor but I didn't notice that at all this time around.

No clear winner in this round. (Unless it's me!) All three wines get two enthusiastic thumbs up.