You've got malbec!

By Tom Protzman
HippoPress.com

It was another rainy weekend.

My son talked me into taking him the movies. We went to one of those sextuplet affairs where you can hear the onscreen explosions in the next theater. We chose Matrix Reloaded. During the previews we saw the trailer for a quirky little film called Assassination Tango. This Robert Duvall vehicle (directed by and starring) is about a professional assassin sent to Argentina to kill an army general. While waiting to do the hit, he develops an affinity for the tango and his tango teacher. I bring this up because there's a beautiful outdoor café scene with a bottle of wine. Now the label wasn't in focus, but I hoped, prayed, dreamed it was that most Argentine of wines, malbec.

Malbec, originally grown in the Cahors region of France under the name of Auxerrois, produces the legendary "Black Wine," a name derived from the natural dark color of the grape and the ancient custom of boiling the newly pressed juice. It is a finicky grape. It's prone to rot, mildew and berries that fall off the vine. These problems have thankfully not been transplanted to Argentina, which has more than 33,000 acres of malbec vineyards under production. The Argentinean wine, while not as structured as a Bordeaux, presents impressive fruit flavors and low tannins (those dry, sour flavors from young wine). Its high quality, low cost and ability to go with lots of different foods make it the second largest Argentinean export after beef. And of course, malbec goes wonderfully with grilled and roasted meats.

This week's wines come from California, France and, of course, Argentina.

California:

1999 River Run Malbec from the Mannstand Vineyard-This unique and hard to find little wine hails from Santa Clara County, which stretches from Palo Alto to Gilroy (garlic capital of the world). Rich and burly, I would have sworn this one was a zinfandel. $18.99

1998 Clos Du Bois Winemaker's Reserve Alexander Valley Malbec-I'm cheating on this one because it's only 86 percent malbec and 14 percent cabernet sauvignon. Expensive but well styled, this malbec will age well for 10 to 15 years. See you in 2009. $27.49

France:

2000 Chateau Macay, Côtes de Bourg-My reason for including this one is to show how the French use malbec. It's a blending grape and it is fabulous. Ten percent malbec, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon, 15 percent cabernet franc and 65 percent merlot makes this wine an exceptional value from a fantastic vintage year. $13.99! Drink now and through 2006.

Argentina:

Five of the six wines I've selected are reasonably priced, and, more importantly, widely available.

1999 Valentin Bianchi San Rafael-Spicy with a hint of licorice and oak tones and nice non-tannic finish. $14.49

2000 Catena-From the Mendoza region is the flagship wine of the 100-year-old Nicolas Catena winery. Ninety percent malbec, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon, this wine has great plummy fruit flavors and is light enough for summer. $17.99

1998 Bodega Norton-Cherry fruit flavors await your palate and make this a perfect everyday red. $7.99

1999 Trapiche Oak Cask-Oak aging seems to tame the malbec grape and trapiche is nicely formed with some structure and the ability to stand up to spaghetti sauce. Three years ago trapiche was my introduction to the exciting world of Argentinean wine. $9.99

2001 Elsa San Rafael Malbec-With a merlot-esque softness and a touch of oak this wine presents like a good French Vin de Pay (country wine), nice with beef stew. Super price. $7.49

2000 Luca-From Alto de Mendoza, this powerhouse is pricey at $34.99, but it's a glimpse into the future of Argentinean wine. Big, bold and a cross between an Australian shiraz and a Californian cabernet.

Tell Tim Protzman your wine stories at tprotzman@hotmail.com.