![]() Recent top-end Mendozan standouts for me include Bodega Piedra Negra in the Uco Valley and tiny production Per Se in Gualtallary, while Amalaya’s expression of its 1,828m altitude vineyard in the Calchaquí Valley is a bargain: wonderfully vivid, silky and full of charm. Most of the exciting bottles are the direct result of Argentine winegrowers greater understanding of the effects of altitude in what are some of the highest vineyards in the world, a development which has also allowed them to start identifying the personalities of different sub-zones in the main growing area of Mendoza, and in the even higher altitude wine valleys of Salta province in the far north west. Malbec Loves High Elevation In lower elevations, Malbec grapes struggle to produce the acidity they need to create great tasting and long lasting wine. A tell Host a blind tasting party of your own. However, Malbec wines will often have a bright magenta rim. There are, in fact, plenty of wines that prove malbec can be every bit as diversely expressive, evocative and surprising as established big hitters such as cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir or syrah. Malbec wine is a deep purple-red that is nearly opaque, similar to Syrah and Mourvedre. Like many of the world’s most interesting producers at the moment, Riccitelli uses concrete vessels (rather than steel or oak) to make this and other, wines, believing that’s the best way to bring out the delightful scents of mulberry and cherry, and silky, slinky texture in a wine that Riccitelli might be disappointed to hear really does deserve the epithet “lovely”.Īmalaya Malbec, Calchaquí, Salta, Argentina 2020 (from £10.49, .uk .uk .uk) Riccitelli is very far from being the only winemaker to deviate from the successful but suffocating mass-market malbec conventions. A rare outbreak of sarcasm and irony in the generally hyper-sincere world of wine, it’s Riccitelli’s way of signaling that this is a somewhat different style. Indeed, that desire to shake free of the formula is behind the name given to the adventurous winemaker Matías Riccitelli’s latest malbec. Many winemakers in Argentina want the same thing. Riccitelli This is Not Another Lovely Malbec, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina 2020 (from £12.79, .uk .uk ) The flipside to reliability is predictability, of course, and over-exposure to the many 100s of me-too malbecs being turned out by Argentina’s larger wineries can bring a craving for something else: a surprise or two, a little bit of excitement, some individuality. According to figures from Wines of Argentina, plantings of the variety have grown by some 171% since the beginning of the century, and by 56% since 2010, satisfying a thirst for the kind of affordable, bright blackberry and blueberry-filled reds embodied by Aldi’s thriftily sourced example. It’s certainly made malbec an international bestseller. Certainly, at prices around £10 it offers a welcomingly reassuring predictability: generally these days you will get a wine of plump plummy fruit and generally unobtrusive tannins, a wine that satisfies the back-label cliché of boldly fruity “easy-drinking” in much the same, unthinking way that the best beach reads live up to their blurb’s “page-turning” promise. The traditional tannic structure of expressions in south-west France made them fairly un-approachable to new consumers and, in the Bordeaux area in particular, growers believed that Malbec was too susceptible to disease. The celebration ends with fireworks and mass festivities.Aldi Specially Selected Argentinian Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina 2020 (£5.99, Aldi) Is there a more reliable name on the side of a bottle than Argentinian malbec? By reliable I mean you know pretty much what to expect from producer to producer, in a no alarms and no surprises sort of a way. Malbec was once one of France’s most widely planted grapes. ![]() ![]() The culmination of the holiday is a grand live concert with dance, song, and a light show in the main amphitheatre of Mendoza called "Fray Romero Day". The carnival procession is called "carousel" and includes chariots, dancers, and gauchos and is held in the afternoon on the first Saturday of March. In the evening vendimia ‘queens’ parade takes place along the streets of the city. Then begins a bright and stormy fun which often lasts for several weeks. People thank the higher powers for a good harvest of grapes-the main treat at the festival, and for the labour of wine producers. The holiday begins with the fruit blessing, the patroness of which is the Virgin of Carrodilla. Tips: Wines may taste different than depicted depending where they’re grown and how they’re made. Wines with black fruit flavors tend to be fuller-bodied. This is one of the most anticipated events of Mendoza, attracting people from all over the world. Wines with red fruit flavors tend to be lighter-bodied. On the first Saturday of February to March in the provincial capital, locals organise a festival-Fiesta de la Vendimia-dedicated to grape harvesting. ![]() The grapes are harvested only manually from late February to April. The most important event in the life of the region is the collection of grapes, which depends on the grade and degree of maturation.
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