Maipe Reserva Malbec

Name: Maipe Reserva
Color: Red
Varietal: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Price: $15
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

Nice Malbec with very good aromas of blueberry, blackberry, flowers, and chocolate.  Big, rich, and full-bodied mouthfeel with taste similar to nose.  Very silky and smooth.

Durigutti Bonarda

Name: Durigutti Bonarda
Color: Red
Varietal: Bonarda
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Price: $11
Stars: 3 (out of 5)


We had our very experience with the Bonarda grape last night, and it left a little to be desired. Neither Krista nor I really enjoyed this Bonarda from Durigutti. It was a little flat or flabby, and was a bit too soft for our tastes. It lacked the spice that I expected it to have based on what I had read online about it. It also seemed to be really grapey, without any dark fruit taste.

All in all, I would probably pass on this wine in the future.

Catena Malbec

Name: Catena Malbec
Color: Red
Varietal: Malbec
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Price: $17
Stars: 4 (out of 5)


The Catena Malbec is a juicy, delicious, silky smooth wine from Argentina's Mendoza region, known for its incredible success with the Malbec grape. This one features raspberries, dark berries, some spice, and a bit of black pepper. The tannins create a nice mouth puckering sensation. The finish was very long on this wine and the nose was really expressive.

Bodega Elena de Mendoza

Name: Bodega Elena de Mendoza
Color: Red
Varietal: Blend (Malbec/Syrah/Bonarda)
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Price: $8
Stars: 4 (out of 5)



This red blend from Argentina is an outstanding value...For about $8, it was smooth, balanced, and very tasty. It was somewhat basic, with berry flavors and a bit of earthiness. The Malbec (62% of the blend) dominated, but the Syrah added a bit of spice and backbone. I would gladly drink this wine again.

Crios Rosé of Malbec

Name: Crios
Color: Rosé
Varietal: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Price: $11
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

Well, this was definitely my favorite Rosé I've ever had. It was much fuller bodied than most Rosés, and was made from the Malbec grape that thrives in Argentina. This one was another wine made by Susana Balbo under her Crios label. We've had the Crios Torrontes and really enjoyed it, too.

The Crios Rosé is a brilliant, dark pink color and has a great nose of strawberries, flowers, and a bit of pepper. It was rich and spicy, dry and delicious.

This wine really restored my faith in Rosé wines. I was close to cutting them out of my life completely, but thanks to the Crios Rosé, they'll stick around for a little while longer.

Alamos Torrontes

Name: Alamos Torrontes
Color: White
Varietal: Torrontes
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Salta
Price: $10
Stars: 3.5 (out of 5)

We enjoyed the Alamos Torrontes last night with Krista's recipe for "chicken Bryan". It was very good, but I remember liking the last Torrontes we had better (from Crios). This bottle was fresh and easy drinking, with a nose of peach and citrus. The taste was similar to the nose, with a little more lemon lime citrus notes coming through. It was well balanced with good acidity.

For $10, there are lots of choices in the South American white wine aisle. The Alamos Torrontes was good, but I wouldn't rush out to buy it again.

Kaiken Malbec

Name: Kaiken
Color: Red
Varietal: Malbec
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Price: $11
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

We had this Malbec from Argentina last night with a delicious chicken pasta
dish that Krista made for the first time.

The wine was excellent. Krista had it before at a restaurant and really liked it, so I added it to my list. I'm glad I did. It had a nice medium to full body and seemed a bit bigger and bolder than many of the Malbecs we've had in the past. It was juicy, with blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries, and it had a peppery spiciness that we both enjoyed very much. The wine went well with the meal and was also terrific on its own. At $11, it's a tremendous value.

I highly recommend the Kaiken Malbec...Kaiken also has a slightly higher priced (about $16) "Ultra" Malbec that I really want to try.

Crios Torrontes

Name: Crios Torrontes
Color: White
Varietal: Torrontes
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Salta
Price: $11
Stars: 4 (out of 5)


This wine is made by Susana Balbo, who is apparently one of the most well known winemakers in Argentina. The Crios line is her second label, which includes a handful of other varieties.

This was our first bottle of Torrontes (although I have tasted some other Torrontes at various wine tastings). It was really good. It's like a cross between a Viognier and a Sauvignon Blanc. The Crios Torrontes had the body and mouthfeel of a Viognier, with many of the tastes common to Viognier (peach, honey, apricot). It also had a pretty strong green apple flavor, especially on the finish. The level of acidity, however, is more like that found in Sauvignon Blanc. Overall, this wine was extremely well balanced. It was delicious and very easy to drink. It was very crisp and dry, but had a certain level of sweetness in the mouth from the white fruit.

We drank this wine last night with chicken chili...It went well with the dinner and was also great on its own. I would highly recommend it and will definitely be on the look out for more Torrontes from Argentina.

Bodega Norton Malbec

Name: Bodega Norton
Color: Red
Varietal: Malbec
Vintage: 2008
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Price: $7
Stars: 4 (out of 5)



We drank this Malbec from Argentina last night with BBQ pork spare ribs...The wine lived up to its billing as an excellent value. It's nothing fancy, but is very juicy and full of flavor. The nose and taste are similar - dark berries, mostly blackberry, blueberry, and dark cherry with a chocolate/mocha component. It's medium bodied and definitely fruit forward. It went very well with dinner and was terrific on its own.

Obvio Malbec

Name: Obvio
Color: Red
Varietal: Malbec
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Price: $10
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

It's really hard to go wrong with a Malbec from Argentina. This wine, by Obvio, is just another example. It has a deep purple color with a nose of red and black fruits. The taste is really fruit forward and it does a good job of filling and coating the mouth. The finish is nice and fairly long. For $10, it's an excellent value.

We drank a couple of glasses tonight with a dinner of turkey with BBQ sauce, macaroni and cheese, and salad. Maybe not the ideal match (most people think of Zinfandel with BBQ), but it really seemed to work well for us...especially because this wine is so easy going and approachable. I'm starting to think that you can just walk down the Argentina Malbec aisle blindfolded and walk away with a good wine. They are consistently good buys.

Altos Las Hormigas

Name: Altos Las Hormigas
Color: Red
Varietal: Malbec
Vintage: 2007
Country/State: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Price: $11
Stars: 4 (out of 5)

This was more like it!! After a little bit of a disappointment with the Centine, this Malbec from Argentina was exactly we needed. I bought this bottle several weeks ago after seeing it highly recommended in the Wall Street Journal (Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher) article about Malbecs. In fact, this was the authors' top choice…The color was a very dark purple and the aroma was also "dark" --- dark cherries, plums, blackberries…very jammy. The taste was similar to the nose, with a little bit of spice. The flavor had a lot of different layers and all were very delicious. The wine was medium to full bodied and paired very well with the steaks that I grilled.

This was the second Malbec we've had recently (we had the Trapiche Oak Cask in February), and both were excellent. I will definitely be buying more Malbecs from Argentina in general and the Altos Las Hormigas in particular.