Okay, people, do not, I repeat, do NOT get too used this. Yes, this is the second Wednesday in a row that I am blogging on wine, but that’s only because the stars aligned JUST right.
This week’s wine gem is the 2012 Skeleton Malbec from Mendoza in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Now, my friends know that I love me my malbecs. (I know, terrible grammar there, but it simply cannot be helped. That is how I had to say it.)
If you have not discovered the rich decadence that is a good malbec, my friend, you simply must run out and rectify the situation. Malbec is a dark, sexy wine, sometimes the purple runs so deep it is almost black (Skeleton comes close). It straddles the line between earthy, having a beautiful mineral finish, and fruity, with notes of cherries and blackberries. Some more experienced tasters describe it as having floral notes on the bouquet, but I haven’t been able to pick those up so far. I guess that means I haven’t had enough yet. (Tongue firmly planted in cheek on that last line.)
It’s tannic without the over biting tannins that some cabernet sauvignons can have. It’s fruity without being the fruit bomb that certain zinfindels can develop into.
Let’s move along from malbecs in general to Skeleton in particular. This is a deep, dark garnet wine. Holding it up to the light, it is a lovely rich shade of aubergine. It smells like an incredible cocktail of crushed berries, smoky-earthy goodness, licorice, and even a little woodiness– oak?
When you taste this wine you will immediately want a big juicy steak, medium rare, please. For those vegetarians in the audience, do not despair. Fire up the grill and do some portobellos with a balsamic reduction- yum.
The fact that this bad boy is sold as a liter is fabulous. All this succulent deliciousness for only about $12 a bottle AND it’s packaged as a liter instead of the usual paltry 750 ml? Color me happy! (Mind you, when we purchased the bottle while out the thieving scoundrels at the bar charged us $43, but such is life.) Anyhow, it’s a big time bargain for the taste.
ENJOY!
