17 April: Malbec World Day
Every year on April 17th is the global celebration of the Malbec World Day and of course we celebrate it in Amsterdam at Not Only Tinto!
A year ago, we launched our new website and our blog, writing about Malbec and how popular this varietal has become in Argentina and all around the world.
Although Argentina produces a large number of varietals, definitely Malbec is our world wine ambassador which has allowed Argentine wines appear in the world atlas of wine.
Being Argentina such a large country and with such diverse terroirs, it is difficult to determine precisely why this vine feels so comfortable at the foot of the Andes. We could argue that it likes the altitude, the sun & the thermal range. Malbec clearly found its home in Argentina, becoming the most produced varietal in the country and Argentina becoming the #1 world producer.
Argentine Malbec wine is characterized by its dark color and its intense and fruity flavors like plum, with a velvety texture; although it does not have the tannic structure of a French Malbec, it has a softer texture and great potential for aging.
Many people think that Malbec is synonymous of very strong tannins and heavy wines; but that is not exactly so. Starting in the 1980s, the search for new terroirs, the professionalization of the industry and the new winemaking techniques have resulted in very diverse wines: fresh, fruity, mineral, and of course also powerful and complex.
The birth of place of the Argentine Malbec is at high altitudes in Mendoza, in the wine regions of Maipu and Luján de Cuyo. These districts are located at the foot of the Andes, between 800 and 1,100 m.a.s.l. (meters above sea level). Uco Valley, also in Mendoza, has started to produce excellent wines at even higher altitudes and colder climates in the last decades. Malbec grows with excellent results also in the highest vineyards (from 1,500 up to 3,100 m.a.s.l.) in Salta & Jujuy in the North-West and at the cold & windy Patagonian beaches in the South, practically at sea level.
Due it versatility, all the Argentine wine-growing regions deliver Malbec with a great international recognition and high scores, attracting foreign investors and experts and obtaining great international recognition. Today, there are several Argentine Malbec wines that have more than 95 and even 100 points in Wine Spectator and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (two of them in the last publication).
This year to celebrate the Malbec World Day, we choose Catalpa Malbec from Bodega Atamisque as wine of the month! One of our house’s favorite wine, Catalpa is a medium body Malbec made with grapes from La Consulta & Tupungato in the Uco Valley, 12 months in French Oak Barrels (50%) and in stainless tanks (50%). It represents what it is Malbec today: a modern wine, with good structure due to its aging in barrels, with notes of coffee and tobacco, but also with the freshness provided by cold climates and the height of the Uco Valley. Read more about this wine here!
For those who wish to visit Argentina and get to know producing regions and wineries, do not hesitate to visit Atamisque, a small paradise at the foot of the mountains.
Al gran Malbec Argentino, salud!
Video thanks to www.winesofargentina.org
