Domestic US week continues with what could be our very last US Malbec review of 2022 (subject to change.) and this bottle seems very fitting on a personal note. Unlike my co-author stationed on the East Coast, I grew up in the midwest on a culture of low-fi. I love a good session of listening to Sentridoh and Beat Happening on the OG cassettes I purchased via zines when I was an awkward teen. I adore the low-fi hip hop aesthetic and a good stack of garage 45s. Not sure if I like it in my Malbec, but we shall see shortly. It should also be noted that today's bottle shot was converted and rendered to bitmap in the spirit of the moment.
Nose: Caught off guard by how it leads off with a massive whiff of cranberry. On second sniff there's a lot of tobacco leaf and cherry cola. As it sits, the fruit recedes and the tobacco/cigar dominates, along with some notes of dark chocolate and cassis.
Palate: The red fruit dissipates and the darker of notes cassis and blackberry emerge, along with a sprinkling of cinnamon and cigar. Quite rich with texture and full-bodied
Finish: Dry and mildly acidic, a bit of salination emerges after the fruit notes wear off. The cinnamon re-emerges as things wind up nicely.
This is another engaging bottle showing off the versatility and influence of terroir/geography/place/(whatever the new buzz word is) on Malbec. The earthy notes are somewhat uncommon and the evolution from red fruit dominance to darker fruit is something one doesn't experience every day.
$25