Argentina Malbec

Hello Wine Lovers!

Another week has gone by here in the latter part of summer in beautiful Chicago which translates to beautiful lake front walks and BBQ on the patio! Which leads to Malbec, the perfect wine for summer! Today I am talking about Andes Crossing (Top 10 Whole Foods wine) for $8.99 and Don Miguel Gascon Malbec also for $8.99 at Binny's. Both wines are form Mendoza Argentina which means both are grown at high altitude in the Andes Mountains. Lets talk about Andes Crossing first. You will find this wine dark in color (typical of Malbec) with wild red fruit flavors and violet tones with a long smooth finish and well balanced tannins. Quite a mouthful for $9!

You will find the Gascon Malbec slightly more elegant with a full body and soft tannins with flavors of blackberry, blueberry and dark cherries with a hint of chocolate at the end. Here is a few notes from the winemaker, Ernesto: "The 2010 growing season in Mendoza was characterized by a slight delay in ripening, lower alcohol potential and higher acidity, compared to the previous one. A late-season frost in 2009 prevented normal bud formation in the spring, resulting in lower yields. January and February saw unseasonably warm weather throughout the region, and consequently, veraison occurred earlier than normal in most areas. Sugar accumulation arrest in the berry was delayed and led to lower potential alcohol levels in the fruit than in 2009. Throughout the summer, the weather remained both hot and dry, resulting in generally thick skinned fruit with very concentrated flavors. The fruit also maintained excellent levels of natural acidity, lending freshness and vibrancy to the grapes. Overall, the dry season combined with lower yields resulted in fruit with intense color, exceptional levels of concentration and complexity". There ya have it! (That is his picture)

I was visiting a friend last week who had a bottle of red wine in their refrigerator (Due to the fact he did not have a cellar or wine fridge) and it reminded me of the 20 / 20 Rule for serving wine. It goes like this... take a bottle of white out of the fridge for 20 minutes before serving and place a bottle of red in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving. This will get both wines, white and red, close to the proper serving temperature. Whites show best at around 45 degrees and reds show best at around 56 degrees. Use this rule when serving your wine and you won't go back to "room temperature" red wines or white wines that are 40 degrees or less ever again!

Cheers!

J