# Malbec Wine



## GQ101 (Jun 22, 2010)

I started drinking Malbec wine a few months ago and I absolutely love it. If you don't know about it then read about it on wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbec

I think it's just as good as the french wine I've tasted and also it is a lot cheaper. I like South American wine because I feel that because their currency is weaker, we can get a lot better value for the same price.


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

We always keep a couple bottles of Alamos Malbec on hand. For the price, it's a very good wine. Because Malbecs tend to have very low tanin and a lot of "fruit," the wines pair well with pork...even turkey or a hamburger!

If you like Malbec, I suggest you try some Carmenere: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carménère

Like Malbec, Carmenere is a very "drinkable" red from South America. It has a lot of the fruit-forward characteristics of Malbec, but with more spice. Both are excellent choices.


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## GQ101 (Jun 22, 2010)

Thanks TMMKC. I'll definitely take a look.


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## JohnRov (Sep 3, 2008)

I love Malbec in the summer. Steak + chimichurri + Malbec makes me a happy guy.


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## Centaur (Feb 2, 2010)

I like Malbec too, very much. Your comments on French wine being expensive interested me. Here (the UK) you can buy some French wines for the same price as an average Malbec (say £4.50 to £5.00 a bottle - I'm sorry I don't know the dollar equivalent). It's still a bit cheaper if you cross the Channel, although some Chateau seem to charge extra for the privelege of going there to save them the shipping. Decent French wines start at £8.00 or £9.00 a bottle here - I would always buy French if I want a good wine, nowhere else seems to impart their complexity. I normally try to pay around £4.50 for everyday wine (usually South American , South African or Australian). I'd be very interested to know what is considered a normal price for everyday wine in the USA, and whether that would be Californian, South American or from somewhere else. Any comments?


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

Centaur said:


> I'd be very interested to know what is considered a normal price for everyday wine in the USA, and whether that would be Californian, South American or from somewhere else. Any comments?


As you no doubt know, wine prices vary greatly...some of it is because it's truly a great vintage or the wine maker closely allocates its products (therefore making them more scarce and expensive). Other times, as it the case with wineries like Mondavi and Rothschild...the "name" and smart marketing have great influence on the price, even for less-than-stellar vintages.

On average, you can get some outstanding wines in the US for less than $20 (that's not quite 30 pounds sterling...no?). The exception is Pinot Noir. Because it's such a tempermental grape, inexpensive vintages taste like red water to me. Expect to pay $25-$40 for a decent bottle.

On the upside, there are many truly outstanding wines in the $10-$15 range. Luckily, a lot of Malbecs fall into that category.


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## Not Ed Harris (Jun 30, 2010)

$20 is about £15 these days, so not quite as bad as you're making out. 

The great trouble with French wine is that it's the over-marketed, over-priced wine that gets sent over here (the UK, but from what I gather it's much the same in the US). They keep most of the good regional wines for themselves. Don't say I blame them though. If you go out there and even just go to the local supermarket, they'll generally have a decent stock of local wines. I found a very drinkable Corbieres for only 3 euros a bottle, certified organic too.

On the topic of Argentinian wines. I had a wonderful Torrontes not long ago, floral and fragrant enough to be interesting but not overpoweringly so. Only £5 (~$7) a bottle too.


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## Centaur (Feb 2, 2010)

Not Ed Harris said:


> If you go out there and even just go to the local supermarket, they'll generally have a decent stock of local wines. I found a very drinkable Corbieres for only 3 euros a bottle, certified organic too.


I endorse what you say about French shop-bought wine, some of it seems astonishingly cheap compared to what we're used to paying in the UK. Have you ever encountered a wine called Pere Goulou? Not particularly good, even slightly industrial in aroma, but at 1.50 euros for two plastic litres of it, who gives a damn?:crazy:


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## MarkfromMD (Nov 5, 2008)

I've had a couple bottles of the Carlos Basso Dos Fincas 2008 recently and it is a good choice for cheap wine. I think it is ~$10 a bottle depending where you go. I think it is just over half Cabernet Sauvignon and just under half Malbec. I tried a straight Malbec after this and didn't enjoy it nearly as much, could have just been my Malbec choice though. I am a pretty poor judge of wine but the straight Malbec seemed a little empty and uneventful (also my opinion of most Merlots I have tried).


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## Chouan (Nov 11, 2009)

Picpoul de Pinet, a very pleasant white wine from the Languedoc sells for about 4 euros in France, and £7 + in the Uk.
Ordinary Prosecco in Italy is about the same differential of price between Italy and the UK.


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## ajo (Oct 22, 2007)

After reading this thread the other day I noticed a few Argentine Malbec wines in the local. The one they recommended was Privada which came from the Mendoza region not cheap thought it was $40 a bottle. Anyone tried the Argentine variety? For the price you would want it to be good.


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## Regent1879 (Jan 14, 2016)

GQ101 said:


> I started drinking Malbec wine a few months ago and I absolutely love it. If you don't know about it then read about it on wikipedia:
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbec
> 
> I think it's just as good as the french wine I've tasted and also it is a lot cheaper. I like South American wine because I feel that because their currency is weaker, we can get a lot better value for the same price.


Malbec was a French grape. But yes! I agree they have great wines and good prices!


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Under normal circumstances I find it hard to justify buying French wines when the American versions are so satisfactory. In fact, in may cases they're superior. However in the case of Malbec, Chateau Haut-Monplasir is affordable and very, very drinkable. I'm working my way through my second case . . .


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## David J. Cooper (Apr 26, 2010)

Old Sarge. The thing is when you have an old world palate US wines are just not enjoyable. However there is a new movement towards less ripe more traditional wines from wineries like Bedrock, Wind Gap, Sandlands, and old schoolers like Ridge and Mount Eden.

Still not going to drag me away from Barolos and Barbarescos.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

I _think_ part of this question is based the traditions of the winemakers' national origins. The really big reds that started so much of the California rush to wine are, as you mention, Barberas, Barbarescos and Zinfandel (which appears to be descended from Primitivo, depending on which geneticist you choose to believe). This should come as no surprise given that the Napa/Sonoma area was first developed by families named Mondavi, Sattui and the like. Had more of the founding winemakers been French, I suspect that a more French palette would have developed. They weren't and it didn't. My latest discovery is a Sicilian grape called Nero d'avola. It is a totally new experience to my taste and I am heartily impressed. But it won't please a Parisian.


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## David J. Cooper (Apr 26, 2010)

Old Sarge. I agree it was the Italians who brought suitcase cuttings to plant their original vineyards. However there was many different varieties grown in a typical vineyard and these field blends became Burgundy or Chablis that were sold in jugs.

A great example or this style is Bedrock Evangelho. The mix of grapes come from vines in Contra Costa that were planted in the mid 1800s and still provide grapes today.

It was Bordeaux varieties that made Napa and most of California what it is today in the wine world.

BTW Barbaresco is a region in Piemonte, the grape is Nebbiolo.


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