Antigal 2008 Malbec – A Wine Of Distinction

The wine basket of Argentina is the Mendoza district from where the best grapes, for their best wines are grown. One of the attributes of Mendoza is its near perfect wine grape growing climate and the mineral laced runoff water from the Andes Mountains that helps to irrigate the vines. Putting all of this together with modern farming and winemaking and you have a sure winner.
There was a time, in the not too distant past, when Argentinean wines were considered second class. They never came up to the quality of the wines of their neighbor, Chile. There were many reasons for this lack of quality and one of the reasons was Italian.
There were a great many Italians immigrating to Argentina just before and right after World War II. To Italians, wine is almost a religion. The winemakers, both native Argentineans and the newly arrived immigrants, tried to make wines to mimic those of the old country. Argentina grown grapes just did not produce the wine they were seeking. In time, younger, scientifically trained winemakers learned how to produce excellent wines from “their” grapes. Today, Argentinean wines can stand head and shoulders with wines made anywhere in the world and in some cases, a bit higher.
The star of the Argentinean vineyards is the malbec, a grape whose wines are currently gaining in popularity in the United States. The grape, which originated in France, has found a new and better home in Argentina. It was a minor player in the French vineyards, being used mainly as a blender whose only real claim to fame was that it was used to color and “beef up” weak cabernet sauvignon wines. The wines of Cahoors, a district just below Bordeaux, makes a wine from the malbec grape that is jet black and so tannic (astringent) that it can take up to twenty five years to become drinkable. That same grape, when grown in Argentina, produces outstanding wines that are soft, fruity and flavorful. Whether it is the water, the soil or the climate, the grape variety does exceptionally well there. Malbec, which is a member of the same family as the merlot and cabernet sauvignon, is capable of producing wines of great depth and character which can easily compete with the other, better known red wines and is a wine that can pleasantly replace your current red wine standard and, we believe, make you smile.
One producer that has made a mark in both the Argentinean and American marketplace is Antigal. Antigal makes a magnificent malbec wine they have named ‘Uno.” Unless your high school Spanish fails you, that means one and it is a large number one that is embossed on the bottle. It is a wine that is truly regal and, in our not so humble opinion, can easily outdistance those megabuck French wines that the aficionados rant and rave about and is worth many times its reasonable price.

Antigal 2008 Malbec ($19.99). This wine was made by a lady winemaker. It has been our experience that female winemakers have a much lighter touch than their heavier handed male counterparts and produce softer, more fragrant and easily approachable red wines. This wine beautifully displays what the malbec grape is capable of in the hands of an artistic winemaker. The wine almost inky black in color and displays the aromas of blackberry, plum and black cherries. Cherries, plums and a hint of coffee are the dominant flavors along with the added complexity provided by just the right amount of oak. As one might expect, the wine has a very long finish which accents vanilla and coffee. This is truly a regal wine with the charm and bearing of a modern classic. It is ready to drink now or can be set down for as long as five years to soften, mellow and take on the glow of a great classical wine. This wine will prove why malbec is being adopted by many red wine drinkers.