Poor Malbec - this variety we love has had quite a troubled history in its long life. Its origin is some 2000 years ago in southwestern France, where it goes by the name of Côt. There, two massive agricultural disasters—an insect-caused blight in the 19th century and then a disastrous frost some one hundred years later—nearly wiped out all of the Côt vineyards around the south; only the appellation of Cahors devoted itself to replantation, since many farmers preferred the easier-to-grow varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.
Image courtesy of Ostal Levant, Instagram
Even though Côt has a long history there, in a lot of ways, France sort of gave up on this variety after 100 years of troubles. You’ll still find it blended into Bordeaux, where it used to be much more common, but it’s rarely a dominant grape in those blends. Malbec then experienced what looked to be a hopeful turn in its fate by having a French botanist bring the grape to Argentina in the 1850s, where it was welcomed with open arms. Dry climate, great sunshine, cool nights: Argentina, it turns out, was perfect for this baby. Unfortunately for us now, industry since the 1970s or so in Latin America has meant the explosion of mass-produced, highly processed, essentially characterless versions of what is now much more commonly known as Malbec: each of these grocery-store versions tastes dark, rich, chocolately, and unfortunately difficult to distinguish.
Image courtesy of Ostal Levant, Instagram
The great news, however, is that the selection we’ve put together for you below represents a serious turning point and resurgence for this grape, with wonderful farmers and diligent producers putting out versions of the variety that absolutely give a different face to Malbec, far from the South American plonk and neutered French Cahors. Below there are two from South America and two from France, so you can compare and contrast the nature of variety in its now two most famous homes. We urge you to pick out one of each so you can see the variations on the theme across continents, how wonderfully nuanced this variety can be, full of violets, soil, the sensation of hot rock and warm sun. If you want something extra special, check out the nearly ten year-old masterpiece from Terroir Sonoro in the Bio-Bio Valley in Chile: it is deep and airy all at once, emotive and fine. It’s time for us all to back away from the big boy Cab and receive lovely Malbec into our welcoming arms!
Image courtesy of Canopus
WINES
Château Tire Pé 'Les Malbecs' 2018
A handsome little wine from Bordeaux, 100% Côt, where the variety used to be quite common, as throughout all of southwestern France. Notes of currants, blackberry, bramble & gravel. Ripe red & black fruit on the palate with a nice touch of acidity. This is a deep offering from Tire Pé that will age gracefully for a decade, even though this wine isn't super expensive. Or drink it now after a couple hours open.
L'Ostal Levant "Vendredi" Côt 2022
A beautiful old-vines rendering of this much-maligned variety from its spiritual birthplace in the Southwest region of France, where it goes by Côt. Charlotte and Louis Pérot make wilder, old-school versions of the variety, however, not versions that are blown out by weight and oak; there's dark blue and wild berry black fruit here, to be sure, but immense elegance and the beautiful purple flowers on the nose one hopes to find in this region. 'Vendredi' is done in a fully carbonic style, so it's lighter and fresher than the rustic 'Coeur Simple' we also carry. It's a joy!
Gabriel Dvoskin founded Canopus in 2010, returning to his native Argentina after traveling the world as a journalist and working harvests in Burgundy and Friuli. After some searching, he found what he was looking for in the southern Uco valley to set up his own winery: a cool vineyard site at 900-1050m elevation, with calcareous soils, suited to organic and biodynamic agriculture. The grapes for this 'Malbec of Thirst' were harvested by hand a bit earlier than the rest of the Malbec at the estate, then fermented and aged in concrete vats for freshness; a touch of Chardonnay is added to keep things cool and highly drinkable. This is a big departure from the common industrial, opaque styles of Malbec in Argentina, with far more lift and drinkability.
Terroir Sonoro Malbec 'El Perseguidor' Malbec 2015
$49.00
Made from one of the greatest vineyards in the appellation of Bío-Bío, the San Rosendo Centenary Malbec, a recently discovered parcel of 140 year-old vines. 'El Perseguidor' is the culmination of winemaker Juan Ledesma’s vineyard and cellar work under the label Terroir Sonoro: these ancient Malbec vines were found growing in a high-altitude vineyard, mixed amongst País vines, on granitic soil with quartz and schist—the plot was previously used to make inexpensive Pipeno. Ironically, the grapes had been discarded for being too dense in color and too aromatic (!). Juan Ledesma is one of only three producers making wine on this remarkable heritage, eight-hectare site. Not to be missed: natural, robust, profound.
FEATURED PRODUCTS:
Château Tire Pé 'Les Malbecs' 2018
L'Ostal Levant "Vendredi" Côt 2022
L'Ostal Levant "Un Cœur Simple" Côt 2022
Valérie Courrèges 'L'Art et la Matière' Cahors 2020
Terroir Sonoro Malbec 'El Perseguidor' Malbec 2015
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