“The power of one fair face makes my heart sublime, for it has weaned my heart from low desires,” Michelangelo
For many decades, the dark-skinned Malbec grape was a key component of the happy marriage of grapes that comprised the beguiling blends of wine in Bordeaux, France, as well as in Cahors and the Loire Valley. Many years ago, it migrated successfully to Argentina, where its growth was practically explosive as it blossomed in the country’s rich growing conditions, then was eagerly lapped up in America.
In 2002, Malbec accounted for a paltry 15 percent of Argentina’s wine export volume to the United States. A mere eight years later, the country exported more than four million cases here, or 20 times the amount sent in 2002. Obviously, Americans had begun a slavish love affair with Malbec and its alluring charms, especially at attainable price points.
I originally became aware of Terrazas de los Andes when I spotted a reasonably priced bottle at Consumer Beverage Outlet in Hales Corners, owned by the ebullient Mike Praedel. I thought it was marvelous for its fetching price, and I was overjoyed to get my mitts on a Terrazas Reserva 2009 recently. Grown at 3,500 feet, the vines average 49 years of age, which generally enables them to strut fruit with beautiful concentrations of flavor and intensity.
Here are my tasting notes.
Terrazas Reserva Malbec, 2009, Argentina, $15. Deep purple with heavy, almost unctuous body. The nose was tremendously, deeply rich and redolent of dancing plums and hedonistic, velvety raspberry and black cherry. On the palate, it was smoothly rich and clear, easing into a pleasant, long finish. Great with steak! A-
Cheers, and have a tasty 2012!
