A decent wine. It holds dark berry flavours but what shines through is the big kick in the alcohol and spicy heat department. I wouldn't mind this wine for the right meal, something juicy and high in protein or fat with a bold flavour. The next year's vintage apparently has less alcohol which might make it more balanced if it keeps the rest of its attributes. I will have to try it out some time and compare.
Read more below
Read more below
Back Story:
I grabbed this wine back in the summertime. I kept steeling glances its way every time it came to choosing the right wine for the week, but its time never came. I always felt this wine was meant for something greater in a meal. I don't know why I put so much importance on this bottle, but with this one I wanted to get it right. So I waited. Finally, this past week it was a family roast beef dinner. The whole shebang (whatever shebang means), the roast, the yorkshire puddings, the mashed taters, the glazed carrots, and the gravy. I felt this was where I would bust this bottle out to play.
Basic Information:
This is a 2012 Malbec from Trapiche Vinyards in the Mendoza region of Argentina. The winemaker is a guy named Sergio Eduardo Cose and this wine producer has won wine producer of the year four times, including in 2012. Now, what that says about this wine in particular, I do not know. The wine carries 13.5% alcohol by volume and I believe I picked it up for somewhere around 13$.
It will be interesting to note that I tried to look up the price on the BC Liquorstore site and found that the next round (2013) Tripache Malbec is out and its label is quite different and it sports an 11.5% alcohol by volume. It also comes at a slightly lower price....for now since it is on sale.
From the Bottle:
The bottle will tell us that this wine is "Argentina's flagship variety." and that it is "a rich, red coloured wine with violet hues, redolent of plums and cherries. Round in the mouth with a touch of truffle and vanilla."
Reviewers Release:
Over at cellartracker.com there are some community reviews:
Evanqian claims this wine "clear red, with violet hue. dark fruits, vanilla hints, medium body. it tastes similar to Merlot but more straightforward spicy, a little rough tannins. spicy finish with a little bitter. An entry level Mendoza Malbec expressing wild, hot and rough."
while Frugalglug notes this wine as "Rich and and far too bursting for a malbec. A disappointment for anyone looking for something more representative of the region and varietal."
Now for the Amateur:
Appearance:
The color is a dark purple. This is a purple that follows the lines of a purple plum. The legs are thicker, holding defined lines on the side of the glass that hold for a few seconds before slowly slipping back down into the body of wine.
Nose:
The aromas speak to the traditional grape juice smell accompanied by dark plums, blueberries and cherries. There is also a hint of some sort of spice and the warm burn of alcohol. The longer I smell the more I catch on to a slight raisiny smell and some earthy elements. You can smell the sweetness of the wine as well.
Palate:
The flavour is different, gulpable, dry, yet slightly sweet. With the first sip I feel a medium to heavy body with a sweet tingle on the tongue. what stands out most in these first sips is a tender warming of the alcohol. There is a drying effect of this wine which I think might be due to the intense alcohol mostly, and less so the tannins. There is a spiciness that mingles with the heat of the alcohol and I think the two of these together are what make the wine's heat so intense. I can taste the cherries and blueberries through a base of plum. This fruity flavour starts to stand out more once I get use to the alcohol. A decent smoky rasin aftertaste lingers on the finish.
Wine Food Pairing:
As I said, I had this one with a roast beef dinner. It stood its ground but i think the heat of the alcohol and spice might have been too much for my meal. I think i should have gone with a more traditional Cab Sauv on this one. I might have saved this wine for a BBQ steak or Grilled veggies with spices. I wouldn't go too heavy on the spices in the meal though. This wine carries too much alcohol for that.
Bottom of the Bottle:
A decent wine. A big kick in the alcohol and spicy heat department. I wouldn't mind this wine for the right meal. The next year's vintage apparently has less alcohol which might make it more balanced if it keeps the rest of its attributes. I will have to try it out some time and compare.
I grabbed this wine back in the summertime. I kept steeling glances its way every time it came to choosing the right wine for the week, but its time never came. I always felt this wine was meant for something greater in a meal. I don't know why I put so much importance on this bottle, but with this one I wanted to get it right. So I waited. Finally, this past week it was a family roast beef dinner. The whole shebang (whatever shebang means), the roast, the yorkshire puddings, the mashed taters, the glazed carrots, and the gravy. I felt this was where I would bust this bottle out to play.
Basic Information:
This is a 2012 Malbec from Trapiche Vinyards in the Mendoza region of Argentina. The winemaker is a guy named Sergio Eduardo Cose and this wine producer has won wine producer of the year four times, including in 2012. Now, what that says about this wine in particular, I do not know. The wine carries 13.5% alcohol by volume and I believe I picked it up for somewhere around 13$.
It will be interesting to note that I tried to look up the price on the BC Liquorstore site and found that the next round (2013) Tripache Malbec is out and its label is quite different and it sports an 11.5% alcohol by volume. It also comes at a slightly lower price....for now since it is on sale.
From the Bottle:
The bottle will tell us that this wine is "Argentina's flagship variety." and that it is "a rich, red coloured wine with violet hues, redolent of plums and cherries. Round in the mouth with a touch of truffle and vanilla."
Reviewers Release:
Over at cellartracker.com there are some community reviews:
Evanqian claims this wine "clear red, with violet hue. dark fruits, vanilla hints, medium body. it tastes similar to Merlot but more straightforward spicy, a little rough tannins. spicy finish with a little bitter. An entry level Mendoza Malbec expressing wild, hot and rough."
while Frugalglug notes this wine as "Rich and and far too bursting for a malbec. A disappointment for anyone looking for something more representative of the region and varietal."
Now for the Amateur:
Appearance:
The color is a dark purple. This is a purple that follows the lines of a purple plum. The legs are thicker, holding defined lines on the side of the glass that hold for a few seconds before slowly slipping back down into the body of wine.
Nose:
The aromas speak to the traditional grape juice smell accompanied by dark plums, blueberries and cherries. There is also a hint of some sort of spice and the warm burn of alcohol. The longer I smell the more I catch on to a slight raisiny smell and some earthy elements. You can smell the sweetness of the wine as well.
Palate:
The flavour is different, gulpable, dry, yet slightly sweet. With the first sip I feel a medium to heavy body with a sweet tingle on the tongue. what stands out most in these first sips is a tender warming of the alcohol. There is a drying effect of this wine which I think might be due to the intense alcohol mostly, and less so the tannins. There is a spiciness that mingles with the heat of the alcohol and I think the two of these together are what make the wine's heat so intense. I can taste the cherries and blueberries through a base of plum. This fruity flavour starts to stand out more once I get use to the alcohol. A decent smoky rasin aftertaste lingers on the finish.
Wine Food Pairing:
As I said, I had this one with a roast beef dinner. It stood its ground but i think the heat of the alcohol and spice might have been too much for my meal. I think i should have gone with a more traditional Cab Sauv on this one. I might have saved this wine for a BBQ steak or Grilled veggies with spices. I wouldn't go too heavy on the spices in the meal though. This wine carries too much alcohol for that.
Bottom of the Bottle:
A decent wine. A big kick in the alcohol and spicy heat department. I wouldn't mind this wine for the right meal. The next year's vintage apparently has less alcohol which might make it more balanced if it keeps the rest of its attributes. I will have to try it out some time and compare.
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