I recall when living in Montreal at the corner depanneur you could buy a gallon of a red wine called “Malbec” bottled by the SAQ. Goodness knows if it was even made from Malbec grapes and what country it came from. Those corner store wines were never very good.
Of course, such could not exist today? Most of the world’s Malbec is produced in Argentina although some still is grown in France and some say the best Argentinian is from Valle de Uco made up of three well known wine districts Tupungato, Tunuyán and San Carlos.
Zuccardi is a well-known producer. The grapes for this wine are grown at altitudes equal to or exceeding 3,600 feet. The altitude should substantially cool down the grapes at night ensuring no flabbiness.
In colour expect a purplish wine. As soon as you open the bottle you know it must have a powerful nose! Dense notes of blueberry, black cherry and boysenberry and assorted black fruit. A true sense of plush and lush. On the palate there is enough acidity to corral the exuberant fruit. There is most definitely a raging backdraft of blueberry pie and blackberry jam. The tannins sneak up on you but they are not excessive. There is a purity of fruit perhaps because 70% was aged in concrete and only 30% in oak. I may be wrong but lately there seems a slow drift away from oak towards stainless streel and concrete. Aside from a classic match of grilled flank steak with chimichurri sauce vegetarians might think of pairing with a zucchini and carrot julienne thrown into a pan with onion, garlic, mushroom stock and thyme served over bucatini.
The wine may settle down and improve over the next two years.
(Zuccardi Q Malbec de Uco-Mendoza 2020, Familia Zuccardi, Mendoza, Argentina, $20.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 723748, 14%, 750 mL, RKS Wine Rating 90/100).
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