Grand Cru Tasting Group (Perth) – August 2021 - Malbec

[Waiters Friend]

G'day

Malbec is known in a variety of guises. It's a minor blending partner in Bordeaux, a less minor blending partner in Clare Valley and W.A. Cabernet blends. It stands on its own in South America (which accounts for around 75% of worldwide production) and south west France (around the city of Cahors).

For this tasting, we looked at straight Malbecs only (no blends), any vintage, from any part of the world.

The usual process applied - wines were tasted blind, with only the vintage known. They were tasted from youngest to oldest. The notes below are a compilation of comments by the group as a whole.

And so to the wines:

Santa Julia El Burro Malbec Natural 2020 (Mendoza, Argentina): Crimson / purple in colour. The nose is substantial, with confectioned, jube-like red fruits. There’s also vanilla, fruit cake, and licorice. The palate is slightly tart, with red and blue fruits. Tannins are not obtrusive, and the acid is soft. Short finish, simple and unbalanced.

Ferngrove Malbec 2019 (Frankland River, W.A.): Crimson / purple in colour. Red and blue fruits on the nose, baking spices, a slight earthiness and smoky note. The dark and red fruits flow through the palate, along with some chocolate. There’s juicy acid and moderate tannins, and the wine is elegant and fresh. Well regarded by the group.

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Juniper Canvas Malbec 2018 (Margaret River, W.A.): Crimson / purple in colour. Darker fruits, smoked meats, leather, earth and dried herbs on the nose. The palate shows blue fruits, lots of chocolate, a little capsicum, and more leather. There’s modest acid, slightly grippy tannins, and the wine is medium bodied.

Windows Estate Malbec 2018 (Margaret River, W.A.): Crimson / purple in colour. Bright, jubey red and blue fruits on the nose, with violets, dried herbs (including sage and rosemary) and iodine. The palate has more of those sweet and juicy fruits, with some chocolate. Tannins are grippy, and the wine has reasonable length and body. Well regarded by the group.

Koerner Cot 18 Malbec 2018 (Clare Valley, S.A.): Crimson / purple in colour. This was a more savoury wine, with menthol, umami, garlic (!) and herbs. There’s fruit sweetness on the palate, however, with some smoky bacon, and earthiness. Tannins are bigger than the previous wines, but the wine finishes short.

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Chateau La Reyne 2017 (Cahors, France): Crimson, slightly lighter than the previous wines. There’s signs of development on the relatively shy nose, with red fruits, leather, meats and aniseed. The palate shows blackcurrant, with more earthy and savoury characters. There’s moderate acid, a grippy entry and reasonable length. 13% alcohol.

Vinalba Malbec 2017 (Mendoza, Argentina): Crimson / purple in colour. Red and dark fruits, chocolate, smoky notes , charcuterie and black tea on the nose, while the palate shows developed fruits and leather. There’s noticeable, slightly prickly acid, and the wine finishes short.

Brown Hill “Oroya” Malbec 2017 ((Margaret River, W.A.): Purple in colour, the darkest of the tasting so far. A lifted and complex nose with florals (especially violets), blackcurrant, raspberry, smoke, coffee, tar and dried herbs. There’s raspberries and darker fruits on the palate, with stewed plum and chocolate. There’s a velvety texture, supporting acid, noticeable tannin and good length. Well regarded by the group.

Colome` Malbec 2017 (Salta, Argentina): Purple in colour. An initially shy nose opened up somewhat to reveal charcuterie, earthiness, violets, blueberry, mulberry, coffee and dried herbs. The palate is thickly textured, with bitter chocolate, menthol, and developed fruits in the background. Tannins are soft and there’s only modest length and weight. The group considered this to be a little one-dimensional. The wine sees no oak, being matured for 10 months in concrete tank.

Mairena Malbec 2017 (Mendoza, Argentina): Purple in colour. More savoury than fruit sweetness on the nose, with leather, earth, aniseed, and charcuterie on top of dark cherries. There’s darker fruits on the palate along with some tart redcurrant. The acid gives a sense of hardness, with tannins in the background, and the wine finishes short.

Chateau La Reyne 2016 (Cahors, France): Red/ purple in colour. A floral nose (violets, mostly), with smokiness, charcuterie and aniseed. The palate is a good blend of developed fruits and savoury / leather notes. Acid is supportive, with modest tannins and reasonable length, and the overall impression is that the wine is light on its feet. A better wine than the 2017 of the same producer tasted earlier.

Clos La Coutale 2015 (Cahors, France): Red/ purple in colour. A lot happening on the nose, with licorice, plums, milk chocolate, orange peel, cigar box, dried herbs, blackcurrant and cassis. The licorice and milk chocolate flow through the palate, and there’s some texture here. Tannins are light, with good supporting acid and a modest finish. This wine would be better with a little more palate weight.

Fromm Malbec 2013 (Marlborough, New Zealand): Garnet colour. The nose is bright and juicy, with red fruits, aniseed and menthol. The palate shows more acid than the other wines, with supportive tannins and some pepper. Modest and slightly astringent finish.

Carpe Diem Platinum Malbec 2011 (Margaret River, W.A.): Garnet colour. Earthy and savoury with the red and dark fruits well into tertiary development. There’s also some shoe leather and chocolate on the nose, while the palate also shows chocolate, timber and bitumen. This was a divisive wine, with many supporters, but others considering it porty.

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A question arising from this tasting is what age to drink straight Malbecs. While origin and winemaking will obviously make for considerable variance, for me the better wines were around the 3-5 year mark. This is supported by a previous Malbec tasting we have done, http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?f ... ec#p155683 where a couple of the same wines were also tasted.

Wine of the night was the Brown Hill Oroya Malbec 2017. My thanks to the enthusiastic group of tasters for their comments.

Cheers
Allan

[Waiters Friend]

A few more photos

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[JamieBahrain]

Thanks Allan

Can’t believe your group forgot Wendouree’s Malbec? Must be Australia’s finest? If not certainly most topical.

[ticklenow1]

Thanks Allan

Can’t believe your group forgot Wendouree’s Malbec? Must be Australia’s finest? If not certainly most topical.

I was just about to type the same thing...

Looks like an awesome tasting just the same. You guys are extremely lucky to have a healthy state and be able to have these dinners. I'm jealous.

Cheers
Ian

[Chuck]

Thanks Allan

Can’t believe your group forgot Wendouree’s Malbec? Must be Australia’s finest? If not certainly most topical.

I was just about to type the same thing...

Looks like an awesome tasting just the same. You guys are extremely lucky to have a healthy state and be able to have these dinners. I'm jealous.

Cheers
Ian

And nothing from Langhorne Creek which is developing a reputation for Malbec.

Chuck

[ticklenow1]

Thanks Allan

Can’t believe your group forgot Wendouree’s Malbec? Must be Australia’s finest? If not certainly most topical.

I was just about to type the same thing...

Looks like an awesome tasting just the same. You guys are extremely lucky to have a healthy state and be able to have these dinners. I'm jealous.

Cheers
Ian

And nothing from Langhorne Creek which is developing a reputation for Malbec.

Chuck

I didn't know that. Any suggestions to try?

Cheers
Ian

[Michael McNally]

I didn't know that. Any suggestions to try?

Cheers
Ian

Bleasedale Generations is a good drop.

Cheers

Michael

[Waiters Friend]

For the Grand Cru tasting group, everyone brings a bottle (or two), and they're tasted blind, so we don't know what we are going to be tasting until they are unmasked. Unfortunate that no-one brought a Wendouree (it was discussed), but unless you're already on their mailing list, they are pretty hard to get hold of. Unless someone wants to sell be some ........

[Chuck]

I didn't know that. Any suggestions to try?

Cheers
Ian

Bleasedale Generations is a good drop.

Cheers

Michael

Lake Breeze do a nice malbec. Trouble is the big boys own huge tracts of vineyards down there and much of the malbec goes into multi regional blends. One day LC will be discovered and deservedly so. The Lake Breeze Cabernet Sauvignon has been a staple in our house for years. It just needs a long sleep time before it shines. Unyielding in its youth. But I'm a very patient man.

[Duncan Disorderly]

A question arising from this tasting is what age to drink straight Malbecs.

I’ve had a few tannic beasts from Cahors which start to look good from 8-10 plus years. Bloody enjoyable though, if you can wait.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Lake Breeze do a nice malbec. Trouble is the big boys own huge tracts of vineyards down there and much of the malbec goes into multi regional blends. One day LC will be discovered and deservedly so. The Lake Breeze Cabernet Sauvignon has been a staple in our house for years. It just needs a long sleep time before it shines. Unyielding in its youth. But I'm a very patient man.

Wolf Blass long ago credited Langhorne Creek fruit for the success of his blends, in particular his two consecutive Jimmy Watson trophies for his Black Label back in the 70s.