29 Sep, 2006
Altos Las Hormigas 2005 Malbec Mendoza
STOP THE ANTS!!!
Gotta love those Argentinian ants. Gotta STOP them, too! That's the translation of this malbec from Mendoza. We've tried some strange malbecs before, so I found a couple "highly recommended" ones to try. It seems that folks who like Argentinian malbecs (once they find the right kind) really LOVE them. Since this was a VERY young wine, I decanted it for about an hour and a half, swirling the decanter vigorously often. Straight out of the bottle I got intense fruit and a hearty helping of earth (not my favourite flavour!) AFTER decanting, it remained pretty much the same. Dark purple (INKY is a good word) in the glass, dark cherry and red licorice on the nose. On the palate, even darker fruit with a smoky spice, heavy-bodied and soft tannins. The earthy (what we call "barnyard") notes were still there, just a bit more diffused. I was guessing meat for dinner, but Marjorie decided on BLTs. The bacon and malbec didn't get along well at all (they don't play well with each other) but after going to all the trouble of decanting, I thought "what the heck." Yes, true, I SHOULD be darned to heck for going through with this pairing! It certainly would be better with a nice juicy steak, but not as good as a decent California cab. Two more malbecs to go (in the cellar) - if they don't pan out, they're off our "to do" list.
Rating: 6 out of 10