Some wines tasted in the search for some lighter, more subtle styles of Argentine Malbec for a piece for Square Meal‘s annual guide. These are all 2010s – will post some notes on some 2009s and 2008s soon
Santa Julia Malbec 2010, Mendoza (£6.99 Waitrose)
Simple and slightly volatile, there’s reasonable plummy berry and cherry fruit and a touch of spice, but it’s slightly medicinal C+
Argento Selección Malbec 2010, Mendoza (£7.50 Wholefoods, Fresh & Wild, Last Drop Wines, Bibendum)
Fresher, punchier fruit – black cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant – with some substance and body, slightly raw oak but decent enough. B(-)
Artesano de Argento Malbec 2010, Mendoza (£7.29 Tesco)
A more mellow style, with Rioja-like vanilla and furniture polish oakiness allied to plush rounded berry and plum flavours. B
Bodega Renacer ‘Punto Final’ Malbec 2010, Mendoza (£9.99 Liberty Wines)
Shows the fragrant side of Malbec, with touches of violet and spice alongside the kirsch and berry flesh. Quite full in body, with oak adding notes of vanilla and chocolate, but the finish is clean and vibrant. S(-)
Finca Flichman Reserve Malbec 2010, Mendoza (£8.49 Waitrose)
Smells of dark fruit, tastes more of red fruit… Overall a polished, grown-up wine with generous berry, cherry and plum fruit in harmony with smoky oak, and a lush but fresh finish. S-
Septima Malbec 2010, Mendoza (£7.65 Wine Rack, Aughton Wines, The Vineyard, Bacchus et Al, Bentalls, Vicki’s Wine Merchants, Cheshire Smokehouse, Harrisons Fine Wines, INXS Kicked, Lewis & Cooper, Screw It & Pull It, James Wallace Wines, Planet of the Grapes)
Hmmm… Decent dark fruit flesh, but slightly disjointed wood and a meaty/sulphury edge that doesn’t fully disappear with time. B
Achaval Ferrer Malbec 2010, Mendoza (£14.59 Corney & Barrow)
Grown-up and intense wine, with Parma violet-scented , red berry and dark fruit flavours underpinned by a spine of earthy minerality, juicy acidity and slightly chewy tannin. Serious and concentrated, but still fresh and lively. S+
Familia Cassone Finca La Florencia Malbec, 2010, Mendoza (£7.17 Justerini & Brooks)
Another with a slightly stinky side, but here there’s more plummy cherry and berry fruit, with toasty Taxi-biscout0like oak in the background. B+