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Wednesday, December 3, 2003
Wine Pick of the Week: 2002 High Altitude Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 High Altitude Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon
($9)
Here is a sobering statistic: In the late 1980s, at the peak of consumption in Argentina, each man, woman and child was credited with consuming more than 23 gallons of wine per year. That's a lot of wine. By comparison, France and Italy each can manage only about 15 gallons and in this country we can barely sip more than 2 gallons apiece. Today, for various reasons, the average Argentine tipples a more sensible 11 gallons.
These numbers are important because during those peak years Argentines drank only domestic wines, which were some of the sorriest wines made anywhere. As their home market disappeared, producers were forced to dramatically improve the quality of their wines in order to compete outside of Argentina.
Today Argentina makes excellent wines, especially those from the red malbec grape. Although malbec garners little favor elsewhere in Argentina, winemakers have developed a knack for coaxing the best from this variety. Often they mix in a bit of cabernet sauvignon to flesh it out and give it more complexity, and the results can be surprisingly good. So much so that producers in other wine regions are reassessing their opinions of malbec and plantings are increasing.
Some of the best Argentine malbec can fetch more than $30 a bottle, but many can be tremendous values, such as the 2002 High Altitude Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon ($9).
This is a modern wine, elegant and complex. It is buzzing with vivid fruit smells and flavors, such as raspberry, currant, red cherry and even a bit of cranberry. The fruit is sweet without being overripe or jammy and there are generous tannins that give the wine a fine texture.
It is distributed by Unique Wine Co., 425-255-8646.
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