Color – Dark purple with a black core
Nose – Black currant, blackberry, brown sugar, caramel
Taste – A word of advice before we start, decant this wine for at least an hour before you begin to sip. Once you do start sipping be prepared for very strong flavors. This wine is not a fruit forward Malbec. Instead it starts with flavors of blueberry, blackberry, dark cherry, heat from the alcohol and leather. The mid-palate comes on strong with plentiful tannins, brown sugar, and muted spice box flavors. The finish is long and can seem a little harsh at times due to the tannins and heat that run through the entire wine. There are some dark fruit flavors on the finish (blackberry, plum, currant) as well as tobacco, bittersweet chocolate, and more leather. This is a full bodied wine and not an everyday Malbec as I’ve mentioned previously. There are fruit flavors but they are more even in this wine, blending with the tannins, heat and tobacco/leather flavors rather than overpowering them.
Overall, the wine is not bad when paired well and when sipped slightly chilled. As the wine warmed in my glass the tannins evened out, but the alcohol took a big step forward and really overwhelmed all of the other flavors. If you do purchase this wine (Costco for 8.99), make sure you serve it slightly chilled. This barely makes the grade for a wine that I would recommend. It has a pretty good QPR given that this wine’s quality is definitely there with a nice level of complexity and depth. This isn’t an inexpensive Malbec, but the flavors here won’t work for everyone. I won’t be seeking this out when I want a good all around Malbec, instead I will grab Alamos or Chateau Labrande, but if I am in the mood for something a little more robust and complex I’d buy this again. Let me know what you think.
Graffigna Wines
Somewhere I read this was a good Malbec for "cab drinkers." This could not be more accurate. This cab drinker enjoyed it immensely regardless of price.
ReplyDeleteI'd agree with that statement. This is definitely a bigger Malbec with more akin to a Cabernet Sauvignon than most fruit forward Malbecs. Part of the reason I didn't enjoy this as much was due to that fact. I also think this wine will taste better with age if it is given the chance sit in a cellar. If I were to compare this to a Cab of the same price this would beat most Cabs easily.
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