Malbec.... Why the ...
 

  You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more

[Closed] Malbec.... Why the hype?

28 Posts
26 Users
0 Reactions
209 Views
Posts: 12993
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Was listening to R4 a while back and they were talking about wines. Malbec was mentioned. Can't go wrong they said. Safe bet. Blah blah blah....

Was in M&S yesterday buying some bacon and saw a bottle for £8. Thought why not? Give it a go.

The bottle of generic Italian red for £4 from Aldi beat it hands down.

Malbec... Meh...!


 
Posted : 12/01/2020 11:14 pm
Posts: 3171
Free Member
 

*sigh*


 
Posted : 12/01/2020 11:28 pm
Posts: 8771
Full Member
 

And WTF is with all the water taps which turn on and off the wrong way round?


 
Posted : 12/01/2020 11:30 pm
Posts: 7751
Free Member
 

Try a few more; focus on Cahors or Argentina - ignore Chilean and Californian.
Good quality Argentian isn't cheap so....up your spend.
As for Cahors it's no longer made as the old-style black wine which I would have loved to taste but it's still a mouthful.


 
Posted : 12/01/2020 11:40 pm
Posts: 346
Free Member
 

Get a bottle of Catena, usually around £12.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 12:45 am
Posts: 3985
Free Member
 

+1 for Catena. You can usually get it for around a tenner if you shop around. Also, Viñalba is another trusted Argentinian brand and their reserve Malbec comes in at around the same price.

A good Argentinian Malbec should be full bodied, with dark fruit flavours, smooth but prominent tannin structure and slightly perfumed.

Wine is so subjective though so just because the critics are telling you to drink it doesn't mean you have to like it.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 6:47 am
Posts: 188
Free Member
 

Which was the £4 aldi one?


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 7:41 am
 DezB
Posts: 54367
Free Member
 

A good Argentinian Malbec should be full bodied, with dark fruit flavours, smooth but prominent tannin structure and slightly perfumed.

#strangest


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 9:24 am
Posts: 77347
Free Member
 

"Hype" = "mentioned on Radio 4 once"?

Anyway. Give me a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon over Malbec any day.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 12:17 pm
Posts: 23277
Free Member
 

“Hype” = “mentioned on Radio 4 once”?

you should hear what they call a full moon...


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 12:19 pm
Posts: 40225
Free Member
 

I'm not the biggest fan but you can't dismiss it based on one bottle.

Also, I buy £8 bottles of wine from Aldi rather than M&S. Way better bang for buck.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 12:20 pm
Posts: 8469
Full Member
 

Malbec is a big bold high alcohol red. If you don’t like that style it won’t be for you. Having spent a lot of time in Buenos Aires I’m a big fan, but as always wine is a personal thing.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 12:28 pm
Posts: 5139
Full Member
 

Aldi have an own brand Argentinian Malbec that is good (about the £7 mark I think) and there's a morrisons premium own brand one that is decent enough for about the same.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 12:35 pm
 Drac
Posts: 50352
 

I had a orange once that was very bitter. Why are they so over hyped about being sweet and juicy, I’ll stick to peaches.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 12:41 pm
 rone
Posts: 9325
Full Member
 

Fillet steak + Good Malbec. As good as it gets. No hype if a good one.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 12:49 pm
Posts: 1842
Free Member
 

Frankconway- if you've not yet tried it, a good alternative to black Cahors is a Tannat wine from Madiran. A good entry level wine and superb value is Aramis, from the Wine Society.

I have big reservations over New World wines in general; whatever sort of wine you like, you can get a good choice from within Europe. Importing wines from across the globe is contributing more to damaging the environment, both in terms of shipping emissions and also in some areas, unsustainable water use at the vineyard. That last especially applies to Australia and California. Wine production in some parts of South Australia will have yo cease altogether soon, as the little water that's left has so much salt in it...


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 12:59 pm
Posts: 1930
Free Member
 

Malbec always has a staleness about it for me.

Pinotage is the way forward or a Napa V Zinfandel.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 1:02 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

once you've got past the top of the label all wine tastes good


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 1:30 pm
Posts: 953
Full Member
 

Dougiedogg, you put wine in an optic?


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 1:44 pm
Posts: 7033
Free Member
 

Try a Carignan instead.

Fitou is mostly carignan IIRC.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 1:44 pm
Posts: 5787
Full Member
 

Give me a Merlot


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 2:00 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Dougiedogg, you put wine in an optic?

No need, it comes in a box with a tap


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 3:07 pm
Posts: 4111
Free Member
 

Fillet steak + Good Malbec. As good as it gets. No hype if a good one.

Quite right....note the 'if a good one' comment! I like most of them, but have found some a bit overpowering. Some have also been a bit underwhelming for other reasons, but like any wine its all personal. No one has mentioned LIDL, but they have a couple of Argie Malbecs, one a Reserve which is full on and the other which I like a lot, as it seems to slip down very nicely.

Malbecs from other Countries are quite different in my experience, so not sure if the OP bought a French one?


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 5:11 pm
Posts: 8469
Full Member
 

Malbec Reserva is generally smoother, from the best vines - much like a French Grand Cru.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 5:25 pm
Posts: 10333
Full Member
 

Cant see the point in buying wine that has been shipped half way across the world, when we have perfectly good wine on our doorstep.

#carbonfootprintandallthatshiz....


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 5:27 pm
Posts: 4166
Free Member
 

On a £6 bottle of wine you're paying £5 of tax, so with your Aldi bottle the government are paying you a quid to drink it. Don't think of it as alcoholism, more as a healthy tax rebate


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 5:30 pm
Posts: 4656
Full Member
 

Dismissing all malbec based on one bottle is like riding a 2009 gary fisher and pronouncing 29ers crap at downhill.

JohnX2 makes a slightly exaggerated point

null


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 6:28 pm
Posts: 659
Free Member
 

Have found M&S the worst for lower priced wine , just terrible in fact for me I go without or the local corner shop instead, based on 30+ years eligibility to buy.
Sometimes I wonder if it’s just me , but the Mrs brings another M&S bottle in and it’s deja again.


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 7:03 pm
 DezB
Posts: 54367
Free Member
 

Eh? M&S? Not good value??! Much LoLZ!


 
Posted : 13/01/2020 8:13 pm

6 DAYS LEFT
We are currently at 95% of our target!