The rise of the Malbecs

Today’s Wall Street Journal profiled and reviewed Argentinian Malbecs, noting their dramatic rise in the last decade. I was particularly intrigued since I recently visited Argentina and have been devoted to Malbec since.

The article is worth reading, detailing Malbec’s sudden rise and the potential pitfalls that accompany such a marked increase in demand. The review said that they are already starting to see those effects - a rising number of Malbecs are now being grown in unsuitable areas, making for bad wines.

I personally haven’t found that so far, but I haven’t strayed away from Argentina for Malbecs yet. Of the wines they reviewed, I’ve tried the Altos Las Hormigas, Trapiche, and the Rutini. Both the Las Hormigas and Trapiche were delicious and very good deals. While in Mendoza, I visited the bodega where Rutini is made, La Rural, and left with a so-so impression. While it’s one of the oldest wineries in the country, their wines seemed to be given less care and felt more mass produced than many of the other bodegas. That’s probably since most bodegas produce only a few varieties, but La Rural had almost ten different brands and various grape varieties within each line.