A Malbec Musing - Finca El Reposo '09

Okay - those of you who know me know that most of the time I'm going to gravitate to the old world when it comes to wine, which pretty much means France, Italy and Spain. Let's face it, those guys have been making wine for centuries, and that is an awfully long time. I mean geez...the Etruscans were making the ancestor of Chianti in years that ended with a B.C. But to be true to what excellenteverydaywines is all about, I can't ignore the new world. Which brings me to tonight's post. Finca El Reposo is an estate grown and bottled Malbec from Argentina that is produced by Bodega Campo Negro and imported by EEDW favorite Polaner Selections. This is a wine that presents itself with big unabashed flavors that reminded of blueberry jam and baked cherries. It's very sweet mid-palate hides it's 14.5% alcohol quite well and it is balanced by decent acidity and soft tannins. It went well with the chipotle veggie chili my wonderful wife made for dinner and at $9.99 per bottle, it's a perfect Wednesday night quaffer. I like what I've tasted of the Argentinian malbecs so far. It's interesting to note that malbec has been traditionally used in very small amounts as a part of the Bordeaux 5 grape blend to add tannins and color to the final product and in Cahors, where it is usually blended with merlot and tannat. It's a late ripening varietal that needs hang time and it has come into it's own in the warmer climate of the Mendoza province of Argentina. Cheers.