I continue to be concerned about the market saturation of malbecs from Argentina. I am worried that Argentina will suffer the same demise as Australia has in connection with shiraz. You give folks too much of something and eventually they lose interest. However, when you run into a wine like this one, it’s hard not to sit up and take notice.
2010 Alberti 154 Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina) … $10.99
The element that will set a malbec apart from the masses is complexity, and this one has it in spades. On the nose, aromas of brooding dark fruits with a backdrop of tobacco leaf and hints of earth. Nice intensity on the palate of black plums, currants and boysenberries. The mid-palate starts to show the layers of tobacco leaf and black tea with hits of mocha coming through. The wine flows seamlessly across the palate into a long finish of tobacco leaf, currants, mocha and boysenberries on approachable structured tannins. This is an intriguing bottle of malbec and the price is ridiculous for the quality. 91 points
