Malbec red wine variety
Malbec,
under its French name of Cot, is one of the accepted varieties in the Bordeaux
Appellation so it is debatable as to whether it qualifies as an alternative variety.
Renewed interest in the variety, which was declining in importance until recently,
justifies its inclusion.
Rich, gamey, tannic, blackberry, damson, violets...
These
are some of the descriptors for these wines used on De
Long's Wine Grape Varietal Table
Malbec
is the mainstay of the ”black wines” of Cahors and also appears in several blended
wines of the Loire.
Outside France, this variety's major stronghold is in Argentina where for many
years it was the workhorse variety providing the material for everyday wines.
Until the early 1990s the variety was subject of vine pull schemes, but modernisation
of Argentina's wine industry has allowed Malbec's ability to make quality wines
to be developed.
The
variety is certainly less common in Australia than it was a couple of decades
ago, but there is some evidence that it may be making a comeback. Its role as
blending material with Cabernet has been supplanted by Merlot, and while there
has always been a few varietal Malbec wines around, the variety was fading away.
But that may be about to change.
Interestingly,
James Halliday's Varietal Wines (2004) makes no mention of the variety being
grown in Australia. The 2006 Australian Wine Companion by the same author tells
a different story; of the 172 new wineries listed, seven are using Malbec. This
puts it in company with Sangiovese (9), Petit verdot (6), and Tempranillo (4)
as a popular red variety for new entrants to the industry.
The
2007 Wine Companion lists another ten wineries using this resurgent variety.
The 2008 edition adds another seven. My prediction is that we will see some
interesting wines made from Malbec in the next few years, both from new and
old vines.
Malbec
and Health
In
the early 1990s there was a massive resurgence in the consumption of red wine,
based on the idea that they were good for your health. Shiraz was one of the
main beneficiaries. Recent research indicates that the health benefits of red
wine drinking depends on the presence of certain polyphenols called oligomeric
procyandins (OPS). Malbec and Tannat
seem to be the varieties with the most OPS.
The following Australian
wineries use Malbec
- Adinfern Margaret River
- Alkoomi Frankland River
- Amicus McLaren Vale
- Andrew Peace Wines Swan Hill
- Ashton Hills Adelaide Hills
- Audrey Wilkinson Hunter Valley
- Ballandeen Estate Granite Belt
- Barton Estate Canberra
- Beckett's Flat Margaret River
- Ben Potts Wines Langhorne Creek
- Bleasdale Langhorne Creek
- Bloodwood Orange
- Bremerton Langhorne Creek
- Browns of Padthaway Padthaway
- Bungawarra Granite Belt
- Campbells Wines Rutherglen
- Cardinam Estate Clare Valley
- Carilley Estate Swan Valley
- Carpenteri Vineyards Swan Hill
- Casca Freschi Langhorne Creek
- Celestial Bay Margaret River
- Chapel Hill McLaren Vale
- Cofield Wines Rutherglen
- Counterpoint Vineyard Pyrenees
- Cullen Wines Margaret River
- Delatite Winery Upper Goulburn
- Dinny Goonan Family Estate Geelong
- Disaster Bay Wines South Coast Zone
- Eldredge Clare Valley
- Emmetts Crossing Wines Peel
- Ferngrove Vineyards Frankland River
- Fryerstown Road Vineyard Macedon Ranges
- Gin Gin Wines Queensland Coastal
- Gipsie Jack Langhorne Creek
- Golden Ball Beechworth
- Governor's Choice Winery Queensland Zone
- Grassy Point Coatsworth Wines Geelong
- Gundowringla Wines Alpine Valleys
- Harcourt Valley Bendigo
- Hills View McLaren Vale
- Joadja Vineyards Southern Highlands
- Karatta Wine Robe
- Kingsdale Wines Southern New South Wales Zone
- Kongwak Hills Winery Gippsland
- Lake Breeze Langhorne Creek
- Marribrook Great Southern
- McCuskers Vineyard Perth Hills
- McHenry Hohnen Margaret River
- Millbrook Winery Perth Hills
- Minnow Creek McLaren Vale
- Mount Charlie Winery Macedon Ranges
- Munari Heathcote
- Noorinbee Selection Vineyards Gippsland
- Nowra Hill Vineyard Shoalhaven Coast
- Olssens of Watervale Clare Valley
- Peter Lehmann Barossa Valley
- Pondalowie Bendigo
- Pyren Vineyard Pyrenees
- Riverbank Estate Swan Valley
- Robertson of Clare Clare Valley
- Rodericks South Burnett
- Rogues Lane Vineyard Heathcote
- Rowanston on the Track Macedon Ranges
- Settlers Ridge Margaret River
- Sevenhill Wines Clare Valley
- Skillogalee Clare Valley
- Summit Estate Granite Belt
- Sussanah Brook Wines Swan District
- Tahbilk Nagambie Lakes
- Tamborine Estate Wines Queensland Coastal
- Tamburlaine Hunter Valley
- Tatachilla McLaren Vale
- Temple Bruer Langhorne Creek
- The Islander Estate Vineyards Kangaroo Island
- The Silos Estate Shoalhaven Coast
- Toowoomba Hills Estate Queensland Zone
- Victory Point Wines Margaret River
- Virgara Wines Adelaide Plains
- Warraroong Estate Hunter Valley
- Waterwheel Wines Bendigo
- Wendouree Clare Valley
- Western Range Wines Perth Hills
- Wills Domain Vineyard Margaret River
- Windy Ridge Vineyard Gippsland
- Winya Wines Queensland Zone
- Wombat Lodge Margaret River
- Woodlands Margaret River
- Woodstock McLaren Vale
- Zonte's Footstep Langhorne Creek
Malbec wines and food
These wines pair well with rustic and hearty foods.
You can find some great food pairing selections for malbec here.
