Remini-scent of…Black currant, raisin, alcohol
Taste the situation…I must admit to being curious about this wine every time I walk through the Costco wine section or look at the Malbecs that are sold at Total Wine & More. The bottle is elegant and simple with cursive script in white on a black label with orange foil topping the cork. It’s because of this elegance and simplicity that I was so interested in this wine, that and the price. I finally gave in on a recent trip to Costco and purchased this bottle. Not having any preconceptions I popped the cork, poured a small glass, swirled, sniffed and sipped. Definitely decant this wine, preferably for an extended period (mine was still too tight, alcohol-y and tannic even after a few hours, that faded by the next day). Keep in mind this is a young wine and according to the winemakers does not go through a lot of the processes other wines go through as they are fermented. Take that with a grain of salt, however it’s possible that those processes take off some of the “edge“ of most red wines. This one still had some rough patches, but I was able to get through the bottle without my palate being overwhelmed by this wine’s failings. First off this is a pretty big wine, tasting heavily of fruit but equally of sharp, savory and sour flavors. The attack starts off smooth enough with raspberry, cherry and blackberry flavors, backed with a streak of leather and smoke. Those last two carry on through the mid-palate where astringency jumps right in and dries my tongue and cheeks mightily. This is followed by powerful alcohol heat and flavor, almost overbearing in its intensity; the only reason it doesn’t kill this wine is that it fades VERY fast. A medium-long finish meanders in lazily and brings with it a lot more dark, sour flavors and leaves off most of the fruit. There is leather, smoke, tar, licorice, espresso beans and just a hint of plum and blackberry. The sharp flavors are backed by another surge of alcohol heat that you can feel if you exhale through your nose just as you swallow. This is a full bodied wine with an aftertaste of leather and burnt sugared plums.
Overall, I went back and forth by the end of each glass I drank trying to decide if this was a drinker or a dud. It has its failings, but you can tell the winemakers are trying to relay something with this wine. There are hints of complexity; they just don’t work right. The overwhelming alcohol presence is what finally tipped the scales and made my mind up for me. This gets a poor QPR mostly by taste alone. The quality in and of itself is definitely there in the weight and complexity of the wine, but the flavors don’t blend in this wine at all. It’s a pretty messy, hot wine; not something I would recommend. I do plan to set a bottle of this aside in my cellar and come back to it in the next 5-10 years because I do think there is something here. I just believe this needs more time in the bottle to mellow and gain some much needed age. Take a pass on this if you are looking for a Malbec with dinner grab the Kaiken or Alamos; those two won’t let you down.
Durigutti
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