Tag Archives: Malbec

Stew it is

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At the start of 2020, the Sichel Family took control of Château Daviaud, a neighbouring property it well knew as one of their longtime growers. With the Château up for sale, the family didn’t want to lose the connection to the vines and land through new owners.

Bordeaux has a cool marine coastal climate, with mild weather and no dry season. Bordeaux reds tend to be lower in alcohol and are slightly lighter in body.

Blend of 45% Merlot, 21% Cab Franc, 19% Cab Sauv, 15% Malbec This was still very young. Warm baking spices on the finish Smooth tannins for a good finish.  A sense of sophistication and elegance. Went very well with homemade stew the first night, and a meat pie the second.

BORDEAUX – CHATEAU DAVIAUD ROUGE 2019

$17.99 regularly $19.99

14% Alcohol

UPC: 03394150053724

Full bodied and robust

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Hits the sweet spot of flavour and value.  The $18 to $24 range of Malbecs is full of great Argentinean wines.  

This young Malbec from Mendoza is already very approachable. Easy drinking and good by itself. Fruit forward and tasty.

It rates better than any other year from this vineyard  92 Pointer.  Great right out of the bottle, and gets earthier after an hour in the decanter. Tangy and a soft tannin finish.

I’m going to go back and grab another bottle and put down so we can revisit in about 2-3 years.

It’s straightforward and not complex at all but it is big, rich and doesn’t need food although BBQ, hamburgers, sausages and roast beef would all work with it.

MALBEC – MALBADO MENDOZA 2019

$17.99 regularly $22.99

14.5% alcohol

UPC: 00858108007120

Confused after high expectations

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The region produces wonderful Malbecs.  85 year old vines usually produce great wines.  Unfortunately, this one is neither wonderful nor great.  There isn’t a lot of complexity and there isn’t any bounce to the step.  There is medium body, tight tannins and a ripeness to the finish.  

It’s still quite enjoyable, but we don’t feel the price is justified. 

We’ve had nicer wines from the region at a more reasonable price.  Maybe it needs more time in the bottle, or possibly it needs something carnavore-ish to be served with it to distract.

MALBEC – LUIS SEGUNDO LAS ACEQUIAS MENDOZA 15

$24.99

14.5% Alcohol

UPC: 07798067080693

Naramata Bench Excellence

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This is a lovely vintage with all the characteristics of a good Malbec.

Excellent tannins and oodles of flavour, and a long, lingering finish.

It came as a gift, and we treated it with honour and respect – by enjoying the entire bottle whist doing dinner prep, with dinner, and lingering with chit chat before dessert.

LaFrenz Malbec 2018

Rockyfeller Vineyard

Blend: 88% Malbec and 12% Syrah 

Alcohol: 14.8%

A great combination

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Bandits Renegades and Ruffians

Renegade (F) brought Bandits (3 Finger Jack) to a Ruffian (me).

So, we stirred the pot (80 year old Cominco tangine) with baby back ribs and Mediterranean spices.  3 was the magic number of hours in the tangine. Smack yo fingers for trying to taste when basting.


Odd shaped bottle (wouldn’t fit in the wine rack so had to get it off the counter). Squat is the shape.  Almost vertically challenged like someone we know.


Bold (just like Jack). Bursts onto the scene (just like F).  


76% Cab, 9% Petite Sirah, 8% Malbec, 6% Merlot, and 1% an unspecified other. (Your ruffian has been called the unspecified “other”)


Its a lot more complex than you initially think.  Most enjoyable. A very well done cab.


Still trying to figure out where those two fingers went.

Twas a dark and stormy night

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We started out with a traditional Pinot from Chile.  Then moved up the mountains in Argentina for a Malbec, and then hopped over to Portugal for a blend.


What a Week!


There was no pushing the food around on the plate. It was all inhaled. The meals were hearty fare that were built to fend off the damp Fall and bring out the moody mysteries of the wine.  I’m going to have to turn back the scales 5 kilos as well as the clocks.


The medium-bodied Pinot was silky with fresh red berries there to pick up the earthiness, Flashes of spice to perk up the acidity. 


PINOT NOIR – UNDURRAGA GRAN RESERVA SIBARIS LEYDA VALLEY

$15.99

14.0 % Alcohol

UPC:07804315304722

A rich, solid blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz, Syrah and Alicante Bouschet.  It is bold, smooth, dry, and soft – spicy and toasty It has a fine balance between cool tannins and bold black fruits. 

ALENTEJANO – CASA SANTOS LIMA QUID PRO QUO

14.2% Alcohol

$15.99

UPC: 05604424433014

Today, Argentina is a world leader in high-altitude grape-growing and Malbec is thriving at 1,000 to 1,500 metres in elevation. The benefit of altitude is cooler nights and large temperature swings between day and night of the kind most winegrowers never experience. Grapes do much developing in the final four to six weeks of ripening where the temperature is the determinant of any single component of flavour or aroma.

Since varying flavours and aromas are produced at different temperatures, the best wines need a vineyard with a range of favourable temperatures to capture all the desirable flavours and aromas. A good start is a nighttime temperature in the low teens followed by daytime highs in the mid to high 20s.


MALBEC – LA LINDA PRIVATE SELECTION OLD VINES 2018

$17.49 regularly $19.99 

14.2 % alcohol

UPC:07791203001675

A VERY happy Medium

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Definitely a deep breather — give it at least an hour and a half open on the counter before sneaking a sip – and then you’ll be really surprised.


100% Malbec from Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. The Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months plus another 12 months in bottle before release.


Clean. Medium intensity. Medium(+) acidity. Medium(+) tannins. Medium body. Medium(+) intensity.  Elegant finish.
Medium(+) finish of sage blackberry and tar. Very good.

Great balance and complexity. Elegant finish. A revelation compared to previous vintages that relied way too much on oak. I’d put this at Case worthy. 

MALBEC – TRIVENTO GOLDEN RESERVE LUJAN DE CUYO 2018

$21.99 regularly $24.99

14% alcohol

UPC: 07798039590625

5 on the Plate 5 in the Glass

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Glen Carlou Grand Classique

14.5% Alcohol

$22.99

The components used in Grand Classique, a blend of 25% each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, with 13% Merlot and 12% Petit Verdot, are all individually vinified to allow for the development of each one’s unique character. After assemblage the blend is barrel matured in 225L French barriques for 18 months. The mouthfeel is richly textured with a firm yet accessible tannin structure.


Glen Carlou Vineyards is less than 35 minutes’ drive from Cape Town in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa and covers a 145 ha property.  The vineyard is well known for it’s award winning whites.  (We’ll be going to to try to find some of these.)


You get a full palate that lingers through to a lovely finish.  Full Bodied and well balanced.  Deep rich red colour.  Initially it comes off as spicy and peppery and then settles down into almost an elegance.

We teamed it with a mixed charcuterie, potato salad and coleslaw.


It should have been Raki, instead of Sambuca, with the mixed fruit on frozen yogurt. [Hee Hee]

Not Big. Not Little. Just medium. Just Right.

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sku 478727

Catena Malbec

13.5% alcohol

Regularly $24.99, on sale for $19.99 in the second Mystery Case


Mendoza High mountain vines 2017

3rd generation family vintner and one of the pioneers for higher elevation Malbecs. Father/Daughter now bring us these wines. We first had a red from them about 3 years ago and very much enjoyed it. This is a reminder to imprint vineyard logos in your head for future reference.

Its medium bodied and mellower than its French counterparts. 3000 – 5000 feet above sea level and raised in oak for a full year. It has a nice, long finish.

I think it’s a lot of wine for its price – and exceptional value when on sale.