This was the wine that started it all for me; what got me interested in wine: Colores del Sol Malbec reserva. I don’t remember the exact vintage (2014 or so), but I remember looking at the label and seeing that it was $10 off at my local supermarket. So I took the plunge. Hundreds of bottles of wine later and I bought the 2018 vintage reserva and this Malbec was everything I remembered it was and more. A simple, accessible dry-ish red wine for everyone is how I would describe it. I’ve recommended it to many friends as it provides a decent amount of tannins to make the mouth a bit dry without it being completely off-limits to the sweet wine lovers, too. Colores del Sol, the winemaker, is owned by Bronco Wine Company (aka “Big Wine”). Bronco Wine Company also owns the likes of Black Opal, Crane Lake Cellars, among others in their portfolio. (For the record, Black Opal has a good Shiraz I’ve bought a few times and Crane Lake is a decent wine for the $5 you’ll spend.) In 2009, Market Watch named Colores del Sol as the “most successful new wine launched in 2009.” This Malbec is from the Mendoza region of Argentina. This region is where the vast majority of Malbec wines at your local liquor store, supermarket, or specialty wine store are from. In fact, per Wine Folly, Argentina grows the vast majority of Malbec worldwide. The important distinction with this Malbec though, isn’t where it was grown, but rather the “reserva” title it’s given. The “reserva” label is given to those Malbec wines that use higher-quality grapes that are from older vines or at higher elevations. There is (allegedly) a difference in taste between “reserva” and non-reserva Malbec wines: the latter is said to have deeper dark fruit, chocolate, and mocha flavors than the more herbal red fruit tasting non-reserva. The Luján de Cuyo region of the Mendoza Province is where the high-altitude growing originated in the mid-1990s. Body: Medium-bodied; medium purple with lighter red on the edges of the glass.
Smell: Faint oak & tobacco with dark fruit and spices. Taste: Dark fruit (blackberry, plum jam) forward with a medium finish of oak and tobacco; medium tannins. Specs: ABV: 13.0% Varietal: Malbec Region: Luján de Cuyo district, Mendoza Province, Argentina, South America Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Red meat Vivino rating: 4.5/5.0
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After an 8 month hiatus, I'm back! I've said this before and I will say it again: I'm going to write in my blog more. It provides a creative outlet for me, I get to sample new wines, and increase my knowledge about wine tastes and oenological geography. Anyway, onto some thoughts about one of the first wine varietals I really enjoyed: an Argentine Malbec from Mendoza. Cheers! I picked up this wine at a local supermarket because it was a Malbec I hadn't seen before.....and it was on sale. This Argentine Malbec, like most others that are widely available to the consumer comes from the Mendoza area, where there are two major wine regions: Lujan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley. There are no markings or labels on this bottle to indicate what region the Trapiche is from, however, when looking at The World Atlas of Wine, 7th Ed. I was able to pinpoint the location of Bodegas Trapiche. It is located northeast of the city of Maipu, which is close to both the cities of Mendoza and Lujan de Cuyo. The red pinpoint below is of Mendoza. The smell of the wine was unlike any Malbec I have come to love. The quintessential smell of a Malbec wine includes dark fruit and spices with a smooth finish. According to the label, this wine, was aged in oak cask yet has a very fruit forward smell at the nose. The medium purple color of the Malbec with its scarlet edges blossomed a dominating smell of ripe raspberries, cherries, and red plums at the nose, but there was a hint of some depth there too. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something mysterious about this wine. And considering it was $10, I didn’t know what to expect. The bouquet of the red fruit quickly gave way to the plum jam and boysenberry, blueberry, and raspberry when tasting. I was shocked! The wine had almost altered itself to be a darker bodied wine. It wasn't as portrayed by the scent - and to me that was good; it was a reminder of the Malbec I loved.
Specs:
ABV: 13.5% Varietal: Malbec Region: Mendoza, Argentina, South America Bottle size: 750ml Pairings: Lean red meats, melted blue cheese, Umami spices, and beans (lentil, navy) |
Author20 something living in Beer City USA with an affinity for wine. Other hobbies include photography, reading, and playing my pup. Archives
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