Wine of the week. As you all know I love pairing wine and chocolate. It doesn't matter to me if it's at a dinner party or just a quick snack on a Sunday afternoon, I absolutely love the stuff. Yeah yeah so I've heard it's all the rage and trendy blah blah blah.....but have you actually tried pairing the two?
Once a week I'm going to showcase what's on my wine rack and offer up a good chocolate to go along with it. Usually during the springtime I like a chilled pinot grigio, something very light and airy with hints of.....well, spring. However, Adrianne just brought home a Malbec and our rack is devoid of wine, so this week you get a Malbec!
Malbec's are a dark-skinned grape with a rich color and thick or robust tannins. I really enjoy the varietal from the Argentine region of Mendoza. That's not to say the French varietal is bad. It's just that I think the Argentines have a way with Malbecs, must be the soil and all of that heat.
Ok, with that said, this weeks feature is a 2006 Finca Flichman Malbec Reserva. At 13 bucks a pop it's not the most expensive of the Malbecs but definitely not the cheapest. It comes off as a strong red straight from the cork but settles down after breathing for 20 minutes or so (which I highly recommend). Once settled it tastes rather plumy with a hint of smoke. I would definitely pair this wine with a dark chocolate truffle, one that had some sort of cayenne pepper or smoke chipotle infused in it. But that's just my opinion and my taste buds in action. I give it a thumbs up!
2 comments:
I really love Argentine Malbecs as well - some of my favorite wines! This sounds like a delicious pairing!
I can't wait to learn more about this.
Agreed. I don't like to think of myself as a trendy wine drinker (despite the unfortunate Year of the Australian Shiraz circa 2002)...but I've been all about the Argentine Malbecs recently.
If you haven't had it, I totally recommend Altos Las Hormigas Malbec. It's, like, %10 and really a nice everyday wine, if you like wines with a little bit of spice. I can't get enough of it.
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