The grape Malbec It is originally from France, from the French southwest, in the Bordeaux region. In that place, the strain has other names such as “Malbek” and “Cót” and, mainly, it is used in cutting snares as a variety with a very good color and some roundness in the tannins. The reception in Argentina was hand in hand with the president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, who introduced clones of this variety.
“The grape has a long maturation cycle and the genetic mutations of this variety are long and long periods. In Argentina, there are more than twenty Malbec clones that are different varieties of the same strain that give different characteristics. The same strain with subtle differences. All the variants of Malbec were introduced in the Cuyo region of Mendoza and San Juan.
In our territory, it is planted in all the wine-growing regions because it is our flagship strain, even though it does not originate from here. Depending on where it is planted, it will have a different identity. For example, in the northern region it acquires a degree of maturity, with contributions of color and intensity”, describes Ileana Osorio, main sommelier of the Overo Bar Wine Club.
The specialist explained: “It is considered the Mendoza region of Lujan de Cuyo as the cradle of Malbec, where this variety is protected. This location allows slower maturation, color fixation and varietal characteristics are slower to set in this region. For this reason, Argentina has the best Malbec. One characteristic is that it is verified in all its forms, there are red, young, rosé, white, sparkling wines, that is to say, the whole variety of wines can be made with this grape. In the Río Negro region, a conservation of the acidity of the variety and the development of bluish colors are maintained. The south of our country maintains the same latitude as that of the original region of the vine, which is opposite in its hemispheres are the same latitudes”.
about the World Malbec Daythe wine club of the overo bar develops, in its space located in Nicaragua 4583 in the Palermo neighborhood, a tasting meeting of the most exclusive variety in the country. There, at the restaurant of the gastronomic entrepreneur Daniel Riguerasa proposal curated by your chef will be offered Pol Lycanalways putting the wine at the center of the proposal, and which on this occasion will be accompanied by a Malbec 2019 from the Catena Winery, starting at 5:00 p.m. In this regard, the sommelier explained: “The wines can be combined with our beef, also with pasta, empanadas and pot dishes. It has a very wide gastronomic versatility because it has this characteristic that develops a lot of fruitiness. With good structure and good body, it can go even with simple or complex dishes”.
Argentina stands out in this strain because it is a variety that has adapted perfectly well to the terrain and the characteristics that it can develop are much more outstanding than in its country of origin, France. “In France only red wine is made and it is used to thicken the color in the wines of the region. Here, in Argentina, with technological development, it is the grape that I know the most in all its styles of wine. Much experimentation and much better result. The main characteristic is the earth, the quality of the light and the concentration. In general, Argentine wines, and especially the Malbec grape, develop all that intensity and personality”, Osorio points out.
Malbec is a variety, it is very friendly to the palate, to start the knowledge of wine. The recommendation of the specialists is that the consumer explore different regions, the elegant and subtle notes are in the south, the most intense ones come from the north, the fruity ones are characteristic of Mendoza. “Wine in general, and even more so our Malbec grape, is the wine and context. With whom do you share it, at what moment and to generate the meeting, because it is more beautiful to enjoy it that way”, concludes the sommelier.
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