£7.50 for a 75cl bottle, vegetarian ... Prices correct as of November 2020. Unfortunately, some of it is just plain bad. This one was my mother-in-law’s favourite. That is an extraordinary figure, given that Malbec has had only … Given to Finca El Origen’s Gran Reserva from Uco Valley’s sought-after sub-region of Los Chacayes, it gained high scores from all the judges for its mix of creamy oak and ripe, fleshy, black fruit, and dry, cleansing tannins, all for a higher-than-average but still affordable price. This is true too for Malbec from Argentina, where the diversity of wines from this single grape has expanded, from the rich to bright, and now from the white to the rosé and of course, near-black wines it’s famous for. It wasn’t easy choosing between many very similar tasting bottles. Many wine writers and sommeliers are returning to the classic regions of France and Italy, while others are going further back … Château Mercier, Côtes de Bourg, 2015: A blend of mostly Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. This natural-style Malbec is fermented with native yeast and aged … He picks wines for any budget, with blowout bottles and plenty under £10.Â. After 15 years on the market, Black Box is a tried and true option. If there was a trophy given to the grape variety that most often puts a smile on people's faces, you'd have to give it to Malbec. Bordeaux did notably well with three Best in Show wines, two being Value Best … What do you think of our selection of best Malbec wines? Once an important variety, it had largely been superseded by Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, and Merlot. The fruit here is like summer pudding followed by peppery spice. London, UK, The Drinks Business Do you have a favourite bottle to recommend? In the 1990s, Argentine producers managed to harness all that sunshine to transform this often awkward grape into something people loved – full-bodied but with smooth tannins, lushly fruity and perfumed with violets. Malbec is one of the very few grape varieties, like Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay, that has become a brand name familiar to non-wine buffs. As for the other Gold in this price category, that hailed from Norton, and formed part of its Altura range, which, like the Trapiche wines, uses grapes from high up in the Uco Valley. It is an impressive, powerful red without the alcohol heat and sweetness that can beset such a wine style. Best Wines at Trader Joe's - The 2020 Reverse Wine Snob Picks. Melville 2017 Estate Pinot Noir. But there were acres and acres of the stuff in Argentina, where it was brought by French immigrants in the 19th century. ft = new Date(); If you continue to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies. This should be good for Malbec, as new sources and techniques, as well as better examples, will retain consumer interest in this grape. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding in their field received the ultimate accolade – the title of Malbec Master. Very different to Argentinian Malbec, it has a firmness and freshness that will appeal to claret-lovers. And it is another example of why Argentina is still the benchmark for varietal Malbec – it manages to pack so much colour, flavour and energy into its wines. We tasted, scored and reviewed over 23,000 wines in the past year. Yes, the tannins are quite firm, this needs food, but with its polished dark fruit, fresh plums, and floral edge, this is Cahors made with a nod to Argentina. Even if a wine … jQuery(document).ready(function($) { In the same price band, but within the oaked Malbec category, the judges were amazed to find that the sole Gold awarded was from Izmir in Turkey. From one of the best estates in Bergerac, this is a blend of 60% Malbec with the rest Merlot. From Cabernet Sauvignon to Malbec to red blends, these are the reds we're excited about for 2020. Beer 52 exclusive offer: Get a free case of craft beer worth £24. It’s not going to be a problem for most customers, however, who aren’t likely to taste 35 in one day. A wine merchant once let me into a secret about ordering from an unfamiliar wine list: go for the Rioja or the Malbec, and you can’t go wrong. Catena Malbec (About $20) A delicious introduction to the heart of Argentinean Malbec, the 2013 … If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk. 10 Best Boxed Wine Brands to Drink in 2020. var now = Date.now(); BECAUSE 2020 IS the year of the pivot, … '); }); A rare spotting of a New Zealand Malbec with grapes from the highly-regarded Gimletts Gravel region and very different and delicious it is too: highly aromatic, lowish alcohol and beautiful bright red fruit. The Good Housekeeping Institute's blind tasting panel sampled 17 Malbec wines costing under £10 to find the best. Kaiken Ultra Malbec. It was a fairly simple wine with flavours of apple and pear. Best Buy. Magazine subscription – save 44% and get a cookbook of your choice, Drinks expert Henry Jeffreys shares his top Malbecs from Argentina and beyond. In Bordeaux, however, it was known as Malbec, but there was very little of it. Everyone loves it and, these days, it so rarely fails to please – those rich, ripe, fruity, "Merlot-on-steroids" flavors have been charming consumers for the past decade, earning Malbec … Melville melvillewinery.com. Brazos Wine Imports. Winebuyers.com (£112.15 for a case of 6). }); Flint Wines Ltd $(document).on('focusout', '#comment', function(){ They are complex and profoundly interesting, and … It’s made on the other side of the Andes in Chile. Made in the world capital of Malbec, Mendoza, this is one of the best value wines on the high street. ... Plus, thanks to its thick skin, Malbec is loaded with resveratrol, which means it’s one of the healthier red wine choices you can make. st = new Date(); It shows off the energy and power the red wines can … Many producers have found a crowd-pleasing formula, and stuck to it, and who can blame them? Argentinian Malbec has grip, depth, concentration, … Updated 03/04/2020: Added wines from the spring 2020 tasting (10 wines) and removed unavailable wines. How not to waste corked wine. So what wowed the judges in 2020? Bonterra. The Malbec grape offers a fascinating look into the rise and fall and rise again of a grape variety! South Africa faces up to 300m litre wine lake, Irish whiskey sets new record for a new release, Artesano de Argento Organic Malbec Cabernet Franc. 03606414 | Tel: +44 (0)20 7803 2420. The Catena Zapata Nicolas is a perfect Argentine blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Very different to Argentinian Malbec, it has a firmness and freshness that will appeal to claret-lovers. From one of the best estates in Bergerac, this is a blend of 60% Malbec with the rest Merlot. The one criticism you could have of Argentinian Malbec is that it can all taste the same. A bright red Malbec that stands apart from the inky black competition, Kaiken … Catena Zapata is one of the country’s giants making wine at all price points to a very high standard. Moving beyond the £20 barrier, the Malbecs became more intense, and specialist, with a pair of outstanding single vineyard expressions from high up in the Uco Valley. Here's our pick of the best bottles of Malbec for under £20. This is Argentinian Malbec with the plushness levels turned up to 11. Available from Winebuyers.com (£112.15 for a case of 6), Pairing wine with food: a simple guideWhy you should be drinking French Malbec, The best champagne The best proseccoThe best classic whiskyThe best brandy. Fresh nose, juicy ripe fruit and some perfume, who could ask for anything more? Traslapiedra 2018 Vino de Desierto Marino Malbec (Paraje Altamira); $20, 90 points. Wonderful and relatively affordable Malbec blends containing this grape included Argento’s Aresano Organic sample and Aleanna’s El Enemigo – which gained a Master. Well, the sole white Malbec in the competition made for a novel, refreshing, inexpensive and well-made addition to the category. Editor’s Note: This is the first of our annual two-part series on top Northwest wines.Next week, our list will focus on the best wines for under $20. ‘The change has been apparent in Mendoza, the vineyard in the desert,’ says Tapia.‘Producers are investing in the Uco Valley to the west, beyond Luján de Cuyo, chasing higher … If you were in doubt as to the power of brand Malbec, then look at the range of medallists in this year’s competition. Strict tasting rules were applied. The Malbec grape offers a fascinating look into the rise and fall and rise again of a grape variety! Each of the wines … It’s full-bodied and darkly fruity with tannins that scream ‘roast beef’. $(document).on('keypress', '#comment', function(){ Now, it's time to unveil our picks for the top 100 wines of 2020. Made in one of the coolest climates for Malbec in Argentina, this is a wine with masses of concentration, loaded with pure, intense black fruit, some bright red berries, notes of cigar box, and a tight dry tannin texture. In its home in South-west France, where the grape made an often rather tough wine called Cahors, it was called Cot. Smooth as hell, perfumed with violets and crammed with juicy dark fruit, this is the very platonic ideal of what Argentinian Malbec should taste like. There’s quite a lot of Malbec in South Africa too, this example will impress even the best Argentinian producer. Excellent value for money. //alert('pressed! Our archives contain every Top 100 list … For 2020’s edition, we combed through more than 1,500 wines that earned our coveted Best Buy designation, wines that are $15 or less and fall within a specific price-to-score ratio. Here they’ve … Full of black fruits, this … Required fields are marked *. It’s become such a success that in South-west France, they now call the grape Malbec instead of Cot, and it’s generally made in a fruitier more friendly style than in the past. Available from Vinvm (£15.10) Best Malbec under £20 DV Catena Malbec … A new wine style was born, Argentinian Malbec. © 2020 Union Press Ltd | Wigglesworth House, Fourth Floor, 69 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 9HH, UK | Registered in England and Wales No. $('#force').val(count) Both from Trapiche, and forming part of its Terroir Series, they were equally good, with a lovely balance between fruit and oak, ripeness and freshness, while containing an appealing herbal, peppery note. With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, the Global Malbec Masters provides a chance for your wines to star, whether they hail from the great vineyards of Europe or lesser-known winemaking areas of the world. The Tasting: The Fifty Best held a “blind” tasting of recently released malbec wines with 12 members of our wine judging panel. The order of service was established beforehand by lottery. The 2020 competition was judged over two days in November at the Novotel London Bridge Hotel, and judged by Patrick Schmitt MW, David Round MW and Simon Field MW. London, UK, Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Please drink responsibly | Log in It elevated a sidelined French grape into an international superstar, but witness where it’s now grown, and the styles of wine it produces. }); Please visit the Global Masters website for more information, or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com, Your email address will not be published. It was notable how good the blends performed this year, especially when they included Cabernet Franc, which seemed to give a fresh red-fruit character to the wines, not unlike summer pudding. This review was last updated in January 2020. That wine merchant really was on to something. Updated 26/3/2019: Added wines from the spring 2019 tasting (11 wines) and removed unavailable wines See the tables below for all the medallists from this year’s competition. Either way, the grape is a global force, and, as a result, its supply base is expanding. The Best Malbec Under $20 - The 2020 Reverse Wine Snob Picks! The grape originated in southwest France (where it is known as Côt) and was brought to Argentina in the 1830s. We’d love to hear your product suggestions in the comments below…Â, Subscription offer: save 44% and receive a brand-new cookbook. Black Box drizly.com. Each year, Wine Spectator editors select the most exciting wines we've reviewed for our Top 100 wines—based on quality, value, availability and an X-factor. It’s also one of those grapes that makes one hungry, so closely associated is Malbec with marbled red meat. Best Intro to Lebanese Wine: Château Musar Hochar. Co-op Irresistible Fairtrade Organic Malbec 2018. Bonterra Wines/Merlot. $(document).on('focus', '#comment', function(){ There are; however, gems to be found in this sea of cheap wine and we unveil our absolute favorite picks in this giant list of the best wines … Pinot Noirs have the highest levels of … France secured 12 of the competition’s top 50 Best in Show medals with wines from Bordeaux, Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence and the Loire. Not surprisingly Argentina dominates – this is, after all, the country that made Malbec famous. One of these was the quality of Malbec from Bodegas Norton that had been produced without any oak influence. Made by Yedi Bilgeler Winery, it was an intense style, with blackberry and wild cherry aromas, milk chocolate, and a fresh, plum-like finish, making for an opulent but bright style of Malbec. ... Read our expert reviews to find the best wine coolers. The chardonnay in particular… Available from House of NZ Wine (£15.49). Great fun. For more taste test results, go to goodhousekeeping.co.uk/institute So readily has Malbec taken to its new home that almost 85 percent of the Malbec listed on Wine-Searcher comes from there. Malbec . Or maybe it’s the prevalence of steak that makes consumers so thirsty for Malbec? Hailing from Linton Park Wine Estate in Wellington, it was loaded with black cherry and prune-like fruit, and creamy vanilla-tasting oak, impressing the judges for its quality and depth at this price level. Read on to discover our pick of the best Malbec. Using grapes from Argentina’s Lujan de Cuyo, it was an intense red with layers of flavour from blackcurrant to plums, with fine tannins and a pleasing touch of dried herbs, and more than enough juicy fruit to make up for the lack of barrel-derived sweetness. How to choose a red wine. It was a fairly simple wine … So what wowed the judges in 2020? Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 results. There’s a great balance to it, with lush fruit, fresh acidity and a stalky, aromatic note. The Enthusiast Top 100 Wines of 2020; 100 Wines Under $15 of 2020; 100 Best Wines to Cellar of 2020; Top 25 Beers We Tasted In 2020; The Top 100 Spirits of 2020; 7 Best Wine Travel … Pubs and coronavirus: What is a substantial meal? Attracting just a point score below these two was a third single vineyard expression from Trapiche, using fruit from a site called El Parel, which yielded a notably spicy style of smooth, fresh Malbec. However, the flavours and structure did vary, with the Orellana using grapes from the La Consulta sub-region, while the Ambrosia was made with bunches from Gualtallary. But we also had a Master at this top end for a delicious Malbec from Doña Paula, capturing the quality of grapes from its Alluvia parcel of vines at 1,350m above sea level in Gualtallary in the Uco Valley. Your email address will not be published. The best dry red wines are those that have no residual sugar, with the perfect balance between aromas, flavors, alcohol, acid and tannins. Argentina's finest red grape is Malbec. }); For more unbiased expert buyer’s guides and taste tests, visit our review section to find 200+ round-ups of everything from prosecco to rosé. This is because this variety is such a draw for wine drinkers, who love its deep colour, its fleshy dark fruit, spice, and firm tannins. By Jonah Flicker on January 27, 2020 The start of the new year provides a renewed reason to think about what wine … We even tasted a ‘white Malbec’, then, as the sampling continued, tried reds from Turkey, Spain, and South Africa, all made with Malbec, despite those countries having no history of handling the grape. Well, the sole white Malbec in the competition made for a novel, refreshing, inexpensive and well-made addition to the category. We use cookies on this site to store information on your device. London, UK, IWSC & Club Oenologique Best buy Tesco Finest Malbec Rosé Mendoza, Argentina 2019 (£8, Tesco) Catena, the producers behind this own-label wine, make some of Argentina’s best red malbecs. Among the reds, but sticking with the cheaper end of the tasting, it was a Malbec from South Africa that was the only sample to pick up a Gold medal for a wine under £10. Turning back to the issue of varietal Malbecs, we had some outstanding wines from Catena and Terrazas de los Andes in particular, with the latter picking up a Master for its Lican Parcel, which uses grapes from the Uco’s Los Chacayes, giving another endorsement for this high altitude sub-region. var count = parseInt($('#force').val()) + 1; What’s all the more remarkable is that 25 years ago the word ‘Malbec’ was almost unknown. The Best Malbec Under $20 - The 2020 Reverse Wine Snob Picks! ... 9 best Malbec wines under £20 – our pick of the top budget options ... August 2, 2019 9:17 am. Further surprises came in the £10-£15 category. Georges Vigouroux 2016 Château de Haute-Serre (Cahors); $24, 92 points. Please visit the Global Masters website for more information. $('#stay').val(ft - st); Updated 03/10/2019: Added wines from the autumn/winter 2019 tasting (12 wines) and removed unavailable wines. Trader Joe's is renowned for their selection of cheap, private label wines. Argentine Malbec has also moved with the times stylistically, as winemakers gradually show more restraint in their approaches, reducing the proportion of new oak, or picking a touch earlier for greater freshness, even though they are still crafting generous, juicy reds. Wondering which wines should be on your radar for 2020? Other successful complements to Malbec based on this year’s results included Tannat and Petit Verdot (Amalaya) and Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah (Domaine Bousquet). Updated October 8, 2020 … //$('#email').val(count); Originally one of the primary … var st = null; When exploring red wine, don’t be afraid to … Sainsbury’s stock two Malbecs from this producer, this is much nicer that the rather insipid Fair Trade option. Winemaker Isabelle Chety has made a wine … "Their wines are the best of the best. Over £15, but staying below £20, and we had our first Master-winning Malbec. Sweetness that can beset such a wine style Trade option £20 – pick. €˜Malbec’ was almost unknown it’s made on the market, Black Box drizly.com this year ’ s one! Sainsbury’S stock two Malbecs from this year ’ s the prevalence of steak that makes one hungry, so associated. Into the rise and fall and rise again of a grape variety love to hear your product suggestions in competition... The high street, some of it of … Here 's our pick of the bottles. Chety has made a wine style Nicolas is a substantial meal cheap, private wines. 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