At home with the world

Adrianna Vineyard in Mendoza. Courtesy of Catena Zapata

By Shankar Chaudhuri

In 2004, Robert Parker, the influential American wine critic, made twelve bold predictions about seismic changes impacting the wine world. One of those predictions involved the Malbec wines from Argentina.

At the beginning of this century Malbecs were still a relatively unknown brand among wine connoisseurs. But Parker was prescient enough to see their potential. He wrote: “By the year 2015, the greatness of Argentinean wines made from the Malbec grape will be understood as a given. This French varietal, which failed so miserably on its home soil in Bordeaux, has reached startling heights of quality in Argentina. Both inexpensive, delicious Malbecs and majestic, profoundly complex ones from high-elevation vineyards are already being produced, and by 2015 this long-ignored grape's place in the pantheon of noble wines will be guaranteed.”

How spot on Parker was! The Argentine Malbec, practically unknown to the U.S. at the turn of the century, is now better known than many U.S. domestic wines.

What made the Malbec break into the American market? Its versatile and multidimensional nature is the main reason for its growing popularity in America and beyond. Oenophiles consider the style of Malbec to be consistent with the style and preference of the American consumer. Indeed, Malbec is fruity yet robust. It’s rich and well-structured although its tannin level is not overpowering. Its intense color is both inviting and appealing. Referring to Malbec’s appeal among Americans, Ian Mount writes in The Vineyard at the End of the World, “And Malbec is fun in a most unrefined way that fits with American informality: the wine stain’s a drinker’s mouth purple, like ink. Indeed, it is so dark that it sometimes seems to blacken the glass that holds it.”

Malbec’s versatility is also reflected in its amenability to a diverse range of food. While it’s a great complement to an Argentinian grilled steak, it also goes remarkably well with spicy dishes, be it Indian, or Mexican or Chinese. It also goes well with pizza and even with Japanese dishes, including those that border on the spicy side. “I recently dined at Sushi Nakazawa [Manhattan] and was blown away by the Japanese cuisine’s capabilities to stand up to a [selection of] full-bodied Argentinian Malbecs I tasted paired with the dishes,” Carrie Lyn Strong, Wine Director for Casa Lever restaurant in Manhattan, recently commented as reported by Wine4Food, a well-known wine and culinary site.

But if Malbecs languished in the country of its origin what made them thrive in Argentina? The answer lies in the very idea of terroir that the French are known to have invented. The valleys and highlands running parallel to the Andes in the west provided the perfect conditions for Malbecs to find their fullest and finest expression. Vines planted from around 2,500 feet in Mendoza to more than 9,000 feet in Salta in farther north provides a perfect setting for the Malbec vines to thrive. While the sun reigns down on these vines for much of the year, its intensity is moderated by the altitude and cool nights aiding in the ripening quality of the grapes along with their achieving color saturation and developing the right balance between acidity and tannin.

While melting snow from the Andes provides the Malbec vines with mineral rich nutrients, the natural drainage of the slopes makes them work harder and develop deep roots into the soil, resulting in the production of quality harvests with thick skinned grapes which in turn generate high tannins, a critical component for aging wines.

Finally, the very dryness of the wine producing regions of Argentina has served as a huge protection against rot and disease that became the blight for Malbecs in the damp climate and winter frosts of southwest France.

Malbec is the most produced grape in Argentina. Between 2008 and 2019 its output increased by 100% to more than 948 million lbs. It is grown in 16 provinces, but the bulk of it comes from Mendoza, which generates about 80% of the total output.

Malbec’s evolution from its birthplace in Cahors in France to the farthest corners of Argentina, including Salta in the North, Medoza/San Juan/La Rioja in the Central Andes to Patagonia in the South. Photo by Shankar Chaudhuri

Mendoza

In Mendoza, Maipú and Luján de Cuyo have been the oldest and well known Malbec producing regions, but the higher altitude Uco Valley has become a big center of producing structured and complex reds. Many well-known wine families from Europe and upstart wine investors from the United States have made substantial investments in this region.

Winemakers such as Zuccardi, Catena, and Jean Bousquet are among several that stand out with their premier line of Malbecs. Among these high end Malbecs, Catena’s Alta Malbec, Dominio Del Plata’s Nosotros, and Mendel’s Unus Malbec have gained outstanding reputation.

But in general, quality is also the hall mark of many moderately-priced Mendoza wines such as Tikal Amorio, Domaine Bousquet Malbec Grande Reserve, and Alamos Malbec Seleccion which offer outstanding value.

San Juan and La Rioja

Two regions north of Mendoza, San Juan and La Rioja, have traditionally produced moderate to low quality bulk wines, but have lately engaged in quality wine making.

Salta

Altitude has become the bragging right among wine producers who proudly display this information on their bottles. Actually Salta Province has become the center of some of the highest altitude vineyards in the world, even at a height of 9,000 feet.

Salta is similar to what Burgundy is in France. If Burgundy is much smaller than Bordeaux, so is Salta minuscule in comparison to Mendoza. But just as Burgundy is well known for best Pinots, so is Salta with its limited but quality output of Malbecs.

Produced at an altitude of 10,000 feet, Bodega Colomé’s Altura Máxima Malbec has achieved super-stardom among Argentine wines. Altura Maxima is a product of Colomé’s new owner, Donald Hess of the Hess Collection in Napa Valley.

At the moderate price level, Piatelli Grand Reserve Malbec, grown at over 5,890 feet elevation in Salta, has also received critical acclaim from wine experts.

Patagonia

Patagonian wilderness has become one of the new frontiers of winemaking in Argentina. The Río Negro flows through the desert transforming the valley in a true oasis in the middle of the steppe, giving it an identity of its own. An alluvial soil benefitting from the deposits of the river has made conditions ideal for mineral-rich wines with vibrant hints of fruit. While Patagonia’s relatively colder climate has been traditionally ideal for producing mostly Pinot Noir and Merlot in the past, ambitious producers have found its alluvial soil ideal for producing superb Malbecs just as Colomé found the high altitude of Salta to do the same. Bodega Noemia has taken Patagonia to a different level as a producer of top-notch Malbecs through its line of Noemia Malbecs.

At the moderate price range, both Schroeder Estate and Verum Malbecs offer impressive expressions of the Patagonian terroir. So does Wapisa Malbec, which has the fingerprint of Jean Claude Berrouet, the former winemaker at world famous Chateau Petrus and Dominus. Expect to see more full-bodied wines coming out of Patagonia down the road.

It has been said that the soul of any great Argentine wine is Malbec. Perhaps it was destined to be so. As wine writers Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen wrote in their book, Red Wine: The Comprehensive Guide to the 50 Essential Varieties and Styles, “Like an aspiring actress who left home to be discovered, Malbec had to travel to Argentina to become the global superstar of today.”

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