Colome Malbec 2010

I’d give this one two thumbs up but my hands were too busy pouring myself another glass.

I mean, I had a hunch it would be a good one. This is the other bottle that my friend Mike gave me on my birthday and as I mentioned before, he’s got some good wine picking skills. I pretty much just need him to start writing guest posts here, don’t you think?

Matt and I both love Malbecs, so we opened this up one night when he had just finished a string of working 7 shifts in a row and we were ready to kick back, savor a good meal and celebrate a few days off coming up. We paired it with a hearty spaghetti, and they got along very nicely. It’s a perfectly smooth wine, with just enough body to balance out the bite and a somewhat creamy mouthfeel to it.

There’s distinctly more bite to it when I started sipping on it before the meal, but it was nicely balanced out with some food. (Malbec, being from Argentina, usually pairs perfectly with a nice steak!) It had some fruit notes to it – I remember thinking blackberries – but isn’t what I would call a “jammy” bottle. It was more acidic than fruity.  I would have liked to see how it changed after a day of being opened to see if any fruit flavors popped forward, but we finished the bottle that night. Oops! Tells you how we felt about it…

It’s more expensive than what I normally spend for a “any ol’ night” bottle of wine, but it would still be a comfortable price range for me to pick up for a dinner party or to bring as a hostess gift to someone who I knew loved reds. (I do think it has more tannins than I would recommend for someone who is a newbie red drinker or whose taste preference you aren’t sure of.)

Tasting Notes:

Wine Name: Colome Malbec 2010

Grape: Malbec

Origin: Argentina

Price: Given to me as a gift, but looks like it averages $21-$23/bottle

General impressions: Some bite to it right out of the bottle, would probably do well with some time to breathe, but nicely balanced by a hearty meal. Would make a nice winter wine (pair with a steak dinner). Not heavily fruit forward, but still some hints of blackberry.

Recommendations: A red for Malbec lovers, a gift wine, a steak dinner wine

Would you buy again? Yes, and I’d probably stock up if I ever came across it on sale!