Malbec - Interesting complex variety or one-dimensionsal?

Is Malbec an interesting complex variety, or simply a one-dimensional vinous tipple that should only be used for blending?
Malbec, as a varietal wine fascinates me because some that I've tried are so voluptuous they send shivers of ecstacy down my spine but others are weak and lack spine making me wonder why they were ever made at all.
Any comments, anyone?

[Robin Garr]

Can't it be both? From Argentina, I find that we get about three broad categories: Fine, Euro-style wines with complexity and a minerality that's consistent enough across brands to rank as terroir; over-oaked el Parkerismo fruit bombs; and overcropped, bland and insipid mass-market stuff. Will the real Malbec please stand up?

On the whole, though, there's enough of the first category to keep me coming back for more.

Robin
I agree. It depends on your tastes as to which of the first two you like. The third is not to be drunk.

Robin, you're too damn kind, man! Maybe I'm reading you wrongly, but your classification almost makes it sound like the three types of Argentinian Malbec (I won't deny they exist, but...) are somehow all represented eqally across the spectrum.

Alas, the oak-and-gobfests seem to be dominant, in fact, seem to overwhelm everything else after you pass the $15 price point. Low-acid, high-alcohol, structureless, cloyingly RS-heavy, obscenely wooded nasties are the order of the day down there. Or at least so have I mamaged to ascertain when I've had the misfortune ofhaving to taste more than ten examples of Mendoza Malbec at one go.

Sure enough, there are some nice little things there. I love Weinert, especially that (very expensive) Estrella stuff. And the ultra-tradtional wines of López-Montchenot. But I must say that the Argentinian Malbecs that are good to me are few and far between these days. Oh well, maybe I can also say that I find the "basic" Norton Malbecs drinkable, as long as they're not from absurdly ripe vintages.

The thin-and-weird little cheapies from the industrial houses I won't discuss. But I'd be extremely interested in reading whatever examples you may have of terroiristic, real-winey Malbec. It can be a very worthy little grape, that one. It's a shame there are so many people cluelessly turning it into sawdust jam.

[Robin Garr]

Maybe I'm reading you wrongly

Why ... why ... I do believe you are!

but your classification almost makes it sound like the three types of Argentinian Malbec (I won't deny they exist, but...) are somehow all represented eqally across the spectrum.

Nope. Didn't mean that. Didn't say that. We seem to agree about the three categories. I didn't address their prevalence at all.

I did omit one point, though, that might have wadded your knicks a bit less if I had included it: I don't see Argentine Malbec as a wine to spend >$15 for. In the under-$15 range, though, if you cherry-pick and sort out the minerally goodies from the plonk, it may be one of the better value ranges around these days.

Points taken. I feel pretty much the same way abotu the monetary expenditure. Well, perhaps with the exception of that 1977 Estrella from Weinert. That is magnificent stuff. Perhaps $100+ is too steep, but it's the only Argentinian wine that I think will ever come close to being worth it.

So, spill: Which are those terroir-driven cheapies? You know me, thrifty as I am hip... I do like to find nice stuff for the everyday grind.

By the way, why does this thing not accept the picture from my collection that I wasnt to put up as my "avatar"? I've tried it three times, but can't get what I want to come up. Will I have to be an SR-71 again?

Your avitar needs to be a maximum of 64x64 pixles and be under 5KB in size to be acceptable.

[Robin Garr]

By the way, why does this thing not accept the picture from my collection that I wasnt to put up as my "avatar"? I've tried it three times, but can't get what I want to come up. Will I have to be an SR-71 again?

Are you uploading an image that's bigger than 64x64 pixels? That might be the problem. E-mail me the image you want to use, and I'll jigger it around and install it for you.

I'll have to look around for my notes, but I'm pretty sure the Budini brand Malbec was a good cheapie, and there was a one-year bottling from Patrick Campbell of Laurel Glen that was amazing. I'm thinking that Altos Las Hormigas used to be a great one, but the recent association of Marco de Grazia is not reassuring for those who shun pointy-type wines.

Figured out the 64 X 64 thing already. Will resize the image in Photoshop and there will be no more problem soon...

I tried an Altos Las Hormigas not so long ago, as part of my "My Vote fo Values" series (not to be confused with Coad's "Boatloads of Cheap Crap") and found the wine to be pretty dismal. I was at a store the other day that carried one that bears the name of Michel Rolland on the label, called "Clos de los Siete". It was about $15, I think. I almost bought it, to see if it bore any resemblance to all those former-clarets Mr. Rolland has been so kind to mess up for me in the past decade.

But then I thought better of it...

Can't it be both? From Argentina, I find that we get about three broad categories: Fine, Euro-style wines with complexity and a minerality that's consistent enough across brands to rank as terroir; over-oaked el Parkerismo fruit bombs; and overcropped, bland and insipid mass-market stuff. Will the real Malbec please stand up?

On the whole, though, there's enough of the first category to keep me coming back for more.

Robin,
Are you able to expand on what you mean by minerality in the Malbec context? I was going to start a thread on minerality in a couple of days time, so I can do that now if you like as I don't want a discussion on minerality lost in a thread about Malbec, although I am interested in interpretation of minerality in Malbec in this thread.
Cheers,
Sue

I almost bought it, to see if it bore any resemblance to all those former-clarets Mr. Rolland has been so kind to mess up for me in the past decade.

But then I thought better of it...

You thought correctly...
2003 Michel Rolland Clos de Los Siete (Mendoza, Argentina) - $16 Malbec (40), cab/syrah/merlot (20 each). Very rich, highly concentrated black fruit and chocolate with good chalky tannins and plenty of toasted wood but a very processed and filtered feel.

Robin, Manuel, Bill and anyone else - have any of you tried the Trapiche Single Vineyard Malbecs? I haven't but a report from a colleague from was highly flattering. Trying to source some of the wines to try for myself.

have any of you tried the Trapiche Single Vineyard Malbecs

Sue, the only Trapiche malbec I've had is the 2002 Broquel. I'm not sure if that is a single vineyard or some other designation. I found it very hot, very unbalanced with tannin overload and very oaky.

And let us not forget Cahors. Argentine Malbec has never really popped my cork, although I know that there are many die-hard fans out there. For me though, the juice from Cahors is definitely more interesting and has been much improved on (as has the rest of the Sud-Ouest) from days of yore. I find more restraint on the fruit, oak and Glycerin, and more structure and tannin. There is much more rusticity but that is IMO a good thing. Being well-mannered isn't my definition of good breeding.

Prost!
-Bill

[Robin Garr]

Are you able to expand on what you mean by minerality in the Malbec context? I was going to start a thread on minerality in a couple of days time, so I can do that now if you like as I don't want a discussion on minerality lost in a thread about Malbec, although I am interested in interpretation of minerality in Malbec in this thread.

Did you happen to catch my rumination, Mud-pie memories, just the other day, Sue? It went pretty much right where you're headed, I think. To me, I find a distinct "red clay" element in some cheap Malbecs that I love and that raises them head-and-shoulders above the pack.

Did you happen to catch my rumination, Mud-pie memories, just the other day, Sue? It went pretty much right where you're headed, I think. To me, I find a distinct "red clay" element in some cheap Malbecs that I love and that raises them head-and-shoulders above the pack.

Thanks for pushing me towards that thread. I hadn't seen it. To me red clay is iron-rich clay, so do you find the Malbecs you speak of as having this minerality have a ferric aspect to them?

BTW, I find clay a much more meaningful descriptor because at least clays have smell and taste - as any kid would know and you allude to this in your mud pie memories.

Cheers,
Sue

[Robin Garr]

To me red clay is iron-rich clay, so do you find the Malbecs you speak of as having this minerality have a ferric aspect to them?

BTW, I find clay a much more meaningful descriptor because at least clays have smell and taste - as any kid would know and you allude to this in your mud pie memories.

You and Neil being geology buffs and rock hounds, Sue, you probably go much more deeply into this than I do. Sorting out 'clay' from 'mud' was a real effort for me.

2003 Michel Rolland Clos de Los Siete (Mendoza, Argentina) - $16 Malbec (40), cab/syrah/merlot (20 each). Very rich, highly concentrated black fruit and chocolate with good chalky tannins and plenty of toasted wood but a very processed and filtered feel.

Eeeeeekkkkk!!!

But seriously, a very processed feel? From a Roland wine? How is that possible?

Robin, Manuel, Bill and anyone else - have any of you tried the Trapiche Single Vineyard Malbecs? I haven't but a report from a colleague from was highly flattering. Trying to source some of the wines to try for myself.

Yes. The longer version of my impressions involves several dozen expletives which may offend the easily offensible (some of them, as far as I can tell, neologisms), and which I shall not reproduce in this family oriented forum. Of course, I do have a short version, which went sort of like: "Why do people make this sort of crap???!!!"

Triple-Eeeek!

But seriously, a very processed feel? From a Roland wine? How is that possible?

It must have been a fluke that it didnt have his usual laser-like precision and clear delineation of place. It sure wasn't shocking to see how many people were buying that stuff. acck.

Robin, Manuel, Bill and anyone else - have any of you tried the Trapiche Single Vineyard Malbecs? I haven't but a report from a colleague from was highly flattering. Trying to source some of the wines to try for myself.

Yes. The longer version of my impressions involves several dozen expletives which may offend the easily offensible (some of them, as far as I can tell, neologisms), and which I shall not reproduce in this family oriented forum. Of course, I do have a short version, which went sort of like: "Why do people make this sort of crap???!!!"

Triple-Eeeek!

Family-oriented?
Anyway, I have sourced some of the wines and picking them up this arvo.

Oh dear... May they be kinder to you than they were to me.

From an Australian perspective, I regard Malbec as good for blending only. It does very well in the Clare Valley. Leasingham and Wendouree have produved some great Cabernet Malbecs/Shiraz Malbecs for decades now. I've often associated an offputting "earthy/turnipy" character with Malbec grown in Australia. Seemingly, very little of it is grown/used in Bordeaux. I have no experience with Malbec's from South America or anywhere else for that matter.

From an Australian perspective, I regard Malbec as good for blending only. It does very well in the Clare Valley. Leasingham and Wendouree have produved some great Cabernet Malbecs/Shiraz Malbecs for decades now. I've often associated an offputting "earthy/turnipy" character with Malbec grown in Australia. Seemingly, very little of it is grown/used in Bordeaux. I have no experience with Malbec's from South America or anywhere else for that matter.

I'm trying to remember the one Aussie Malbec I had,but it was so heavily oaked I don't know one could confidently identify the variety. I think it was Browns of Padthaway. Another Malbec-dominant wine was Cullen Mangan 2003 - 47% Malbec, 47% Petit Verdot and 6% Merlot. Fruity with soft tannins, tomato acidity, liquorice, pepper and very little oak but totally overpriced at NZ $49.95 a bottle. I've also had Houghton Jack Mann which has a good dollop of Malbec in there.