VinoDuo is Lisa & Gary. Engaged in Sonoma. Honeymooned in Napa. Vacationed in
Temecula (CA), Woodinville (WA), and other off the beaten path wine regions. We’ve married our love of wine with our passion for travel, visiting lesser-known wine regions throughout the United
States. We’ve got strong opinions about the pros and cons of each wine region and this is our forum for airing and sharing them.
Crushed Grapes Malbec Challenge—The Truth is in the Tasting
Roger is usually right on the money with his recommendations so we purchased two bottles and turned the night into a VinoDuo Cheapo Challenge:
- $8 bottle from Puerto Viejo Malbec-2008
- $15 bottle from Bombal & Aldoa 1830 Malbec-2007
Yes, we know, a tasting across three different years and three different areas of Mendoza is not a “real” test. You can’t compare young, just out of the barrel wine with a mature wine. So we’re not purists…sue us!
This is not actually a contest though… it’s more of a “truth in advertising” sojourn. We wanted to know how close the winemaker’s marketing blurbs on the bottle came to the actual taste. So we put on our “wine police” hat and began the tasting. As Anderson Cooper says, “We’re keeping ’em honest.”
| Wine | They Say… | We Say.. |
| Puerto Viejo Malbec 2008 | Deep ruby red with hints of plum, cinnamon, and minerals, this wine is intense and concentrated with a balanced finish. | Not really a deep ruby, more like a bright medium ruby (Yeah, color is subjective; we won’t hang our case on this point) Aromas of cigar box and Cherry Heering. We did taste cinnamon on the palate with some racy Bing cherry fruit mid-palate and a lingering cinnamon-cocoa finish. Day Two, there was a fruity boom then bust! No distinctive character. Unbalanced finish. A little sleuthing uncovered that this winery actually specializes in Chilean grapes—8 of 9 wines they produce are Chilean. Are they trying to cash in on the Malbec craze? Maybe the lesson is, drink it all up on Day One! |
| Bombal & Aldoa 1830 Malbec 2007 | Deep red in color with ruby highlights. An enticing, complex aroma that hints at blackberries, flowers, and a touch of eucalyptus. On the mouth you can feel the typical sweetness of the Malbec. | Roger raved about this wine, so we had high hopes. Dark ruby color…check. Complex aroma of toasty vanilla and cherry…check. Typical sweetness… Gary picked up “creamy caramelized cherries jubilee on the palate.” Triple check. This is a well-made wine that’s neither a fruit-bomb nor a pizza companion. It held its own on Day Two, with Lisa calling the Malbec a “serviceable wine… enjoyable with food or for social events.” We do quibble with the eucalyptus aroma. Perhaps the winemaker was nursing a sore throat with Hall’s Mentho-Lyptus prior to tasting. |
| Andeluna Winemakers’ Selection Malbec 2006 | Excellent body and exceptionally well balanced with a great structure. Aromas of ripe plums, strawberry, lavender and vanilla with notes of cherry and spices are balanced with lush flavors of red plum, black currant, Morella cherry and chocolate with notes of dried fruits and red fruit liqueur that complement the soft, sweet, rounded tannins and produce an exquisite finish. | We love this Malbec and wish more wineries would emulate Silvio Alberto and Michel Rolland and cross into the no-man’s-land of balancing old world styles with the new. Amazingly, Alberto and Rolland work their magic consistently across 11,000+ cases. Even the Wine Enthusiast agrees, saying “Great overall balance for an under-$15 wine. There's slam-bang dark fruit, good mouth feel, tightness and serious but controlled tannins. Oak plays its role on the back palate and finish, and in the end the wine is as savory and balanced as it is bold and fruity…90 Points.” The Andeluna Winemaker’s Selection Malbec-2006 is a terrific value and is a must buy. |
So, in conclusion, the 1830 and Andeluna were outstanding with the Bison Burgers. But the Andeluna still reigns supreme
as our Malbec benchmark.
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