If you've tasted many Malbec wines you'll quickly discover they can have a lot of variety. Depending on the place where the grapes are grown and the vintner's approach, Malbecs can be dark and broody or bright and lively, some have deep plum blackberry even prune flavors and others take flight with cherry, jammy berry flavors, some are earthy and woody, others more airy and ethereal. Some are very smooth others can be almost rustic.
Frankly I like almost all of them but this Malbec called Lote 44 is particularly enjoyable. It has a bright open smooth red fruit flavor with great balance and complexity.
We have had three bottles of this wine with all types of food, Italian, Mexican, even Chinese and will say that it is a very food friendly wine. We're going to buy a case this weekend.
The wine maker Bodega Cuarto Dominio says "Lote 44 comes from a careful selection of plots from our best vineyards, where we identify a unique and distinctive character; the natural and pure expression of land and sky."
The wine comes from "the high altitude vineyards of the Uco Valley in Mendoza, which sit 1,100 meters above sea level. The soil is sandy and rocky. The climate typically presents hot days and colder nights, with a considerable temperature variation." This unique terrior contributes a lot to the quality of this wine. Temperature variation like this is a factor of many the great wines from Italy, France and South Africa.
The creator is Javier Catena, of Bodega Cuarto Dominio, a fourth-generation Argentine Vintner who has taken Malbec to new levels with what they call a High-Elevation Project. His great grandfather, Nicola, was born in Tolentino, Italy in the 1800's where he worked in the vineyards until he sailed from Italy to Argentina in 1898. I can feel Nicola's love in this wine. The wines are imported by the Terlato Wines.
Available at many NJ wine shops.
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