Here we are, another Saturday, another malbec photo.
Should present trends continue, I'm afraid the caption under the picture accompanying this column may have to be rechristened to read "Malbec of the Week."
Sorry about that. It's not like I'm taking kickbacks from the International Brotherhood of Malbec Producers. It's Argentina's fault. The wines are a bargain, and that deserves a shout out, or two, or three.
The Argentine value locomotive keeps rolling along and malbec, as many of you know, is the engine.
Last week, to cite a notable example, I sang the praises of a new head-turning red priced at $7.45 in Ontario (still remarkably low at $8.10 in Quebec, where it's been a monster bestseller for more than a year).
Unfortunately, the inventory itself doesn't always roll along as quickly as the new listings.
Some of you located the wine, others didn't. My source deep inside the LCBO's logistics war room, the one who hates it when I call him Deep Palate, reports that many cases of Zuccardi Fuzion Shiraz Malbec (product No. 83188) that were headed to Ontario stores 10 days ago "didn't make it. I don't know what happened!" My guess? They got wrapped up in that noble Canadian tradition, a productivity plunge in the lead-up to a long weekend.
Rest assured, however, that the LCBO store clerk encountered by at least one reader last Saturday, keenly tapped into the geopolitics of the global labour movement as I'm sure the clerk is, was embellishing by suggesting a strike in Argentina was to blame. The labour dispute in question had been confined to farmers protesting against a tax hike on soybean exports. Besides, the Fuzion shipment I wrote about last week (and, I hasten to add, had sampled from here in Canada) had cleared port in South America weeks ago.
The brand's Ontario importer now assures me thousands of cases are being rolled out to stores and that much more should arrive in the coming weeks and months. For more specific, up-to-the-minute details, you can send him an e-mail at alex@dionysuswines.ca.
While bargain hunters in Ontario wait for that wine, they can sink their parched lips in another very good malbec-based red, which is being released today through Vintages stores. It's twice as expensive but still worth the price. Finca Flichman Expresiones Reserve Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($15.95, No. 0507707) is another example of malbec's versatility.
Here, the grape mingles with cabernet sauvignon instead of shiraz in a combination typical of 19th-century Bordeaux, when the grape was widely planted in the French region along with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot.
Juicy and warm, at a formidable 14.5-per-cent alcohol, it starts out velvety and rich, with notes of dark fruit and bitter chocolate, then brings up the rear with a subtle kick of spice and firm acidity. Several other value-priced and worthy Finca Flichman wines are available throughout the country.
Argentina's arid Mendoza region gets virtually all the credit for reviving malbec's fortunes.
The vine was largely uprooted in Bordeaux because of the tendency of its clusters to rot in the region's humid climate, though it continues to dominate in the much smaller French region of Cahors.
But there are malbec oases elsewhere, including across the Andes from Mendoza in similarly sunny Chile. One attractive expression can be found in Panul Reserve Malbec 2006 ($14.95, No. 0061929). This wine shows a particularly fruity side to the grape and comes from Errazuriz Ovalle, the company started by Francisco Errazuriz after the original and better known Vina Errazuriz winery was taken over by Vinedo Chadwick in the 1980s. Full-bodied and juicy, the Panul Reserve erupts with notes of cherry and plum overlaid with nuances of earth, herbs and smoke.
Also from Chile is an intriguing red from the Montreal-born, Burgundy-based flying winemaker Pascal Marchand. It's called Veranda Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2005 ($15.95, No. 0091272) and hails from winery Bodegas Corpora, for which Marchand serves as executive chief winemaker, or, as Marchand more romantically described his role to me earlier this year, "inspirateur." Expect flavours of charred plum with added notes of cherry, spice and grilled meat. Great for hearty roasted meats.
With a similar grilled quality but also more of that Chilean-trademark eucalyptus note is Terranoble Gran Reserva Merlot 2004 ($15.95, No. 0062018), boasting ripe blackberry and cassis flavours, good acid and spice.
Bordeaux fans should like Château Fonréaud 2003 ($33.95, No. 0085290), a decent Cru Bourgeois Superieur from Listrac-Médoc with classic notes of cassis and mineral on a tight, lively, lean frame.
Among whites in today's Vintages release is the very nice Tawse Sketches of Niagara Riesling 2007 ($18.20, No. 0089029). Light, low in alcohol and slightly off-dry, it's laced with pure flavours of lemon and green apple and brisk, mouthwatering acidity.
Another beauty from Canada's great 2007 vintage, this one totally dry from British Columbia, is Nk'Mip Cellars Pinot Blanc 2007 ($16.99 in B.C., No. 626432). Sweet pear and tropical fruit notes get balanced by crisp acidity in this medium-bodied, ripe and balanced effort from North America's first aboriginal-owned and operated winery.
For those who can afford it, the best white of today's Vintages release may be Tandem Porter-Bass Vineyards Chardonnay 2004 ($51.95, No. 0684373). An organic wine from Sonoma, Calif., it delivers rich flavours of pineapple, brown butter and spice, with a good balancing tingle from acidity and a mineral-yeastiness.
Also good is the Austrian entry Kellermeister Privat Gruner Veltliner Kabinett Trocken 2006 ($18.95, No. 0738617), light-to-medium-bodied with notes of lemon, spice and apricot and a crisp finish.
Pick of the week
Finca Flichman Expresiones
Reserve Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($15.95, No. 0507707) is another example of malbec's versatility. Juicy and warm, at a formidable 14.5-per-cent alcohol, it starts out velvety and rich, with notes of dark fruit and bitter chocolate, then brings up the rear with a subtle kick of spice and firm acidity.
