Malbec, Argentina
We're big fans of this grape, particularly in the autumn and winter months as it pairs so so well with darker, richer, earthier foods like game meat and mushrooms.
A Malbec is a full bodied wine, deep purple or even black in colour, tannic, and packed with dark fruits as well as some savoury flavours - think inky plums, ripe blackberries, and woody brambles. In older Malbecs you can expect notes of raison, cedar, leather, spice or earth. In short, Malbecs are generous without being overly rich, fruity or jammy.
5 facts on Malbec:
Malbec reigns over South American wine production and in Argentina it’s the king of kings! 75% of all Malbec is produced in Argentina. However the grape originated in the South-West of France and Bordeaux.
It’s secondary region, as it were, is Cahors in South-West France.
Malbec is a thick-skinned grape which offers up dense, slightly rustic tannins… gaucho tannins, if you will. Think horseback riding and dusty leather.
Most South-American Malbecs spend time aging in new oak barrels; this imparts subtle spicy flavours, notes of cacao, and sweet tobacco smoke.
Malbec has an interesting sweet/savoury dynamic, as identified by Nick Jackson MW. It can very often smell fruity and sweet, but on the palate it tends towards the savoury rather than the fruity - tobacco, leather and spice.
3 pairings for Malbec:
Our venison, chicken liver and chocolate chilli.
An oak-aged Malbec has notes of sweet tobacco and cacao on the finish. This echoes the smoky chipotle chillies, charred venison, and rich dark chocolate very nicely indeed. Malbec’s acidity is bright without being sharp, just enough to cut through the rich chicken livers in the chilli.
This venison & walnut stew.
Okay, so double venison but it is pretty much the only red meat we eat at the moment! While venison meat is lean, this stew is elegantly rich thanks to all the healthy oils in the toasted and blended walnuts.... and tannins and fat go hand in hand. Tannins help strip and cleanse the palate between mouthfuls of rich food - sandpaper for any grease on your gums, if you will - and in turn, fat softens the edges of a tannic wine.
Mole roasted cauliflower with pickled chillies.
Much like the chilli pairing above the flavours of the food and the wine here go hand in hand… The smokey chillies, earthy cumin, and dark fruity raisins are all echoed in an oak-aged Argentinian Malbec.