Wine

[Hoople]

Malbec is a terrific grape. Thanks. Bought one while shopping for candidates for future tastings. Maybe we'll just go with yours and people can simply get a Mendoza Malbec if they can't find this one.

I have a feeling I've had the Ben Marco before but was at a friend's house and forgot to take the bottle. I seem to remember Marco. If so, it was GREAT.

For anyone interested and reading this, here's something brief and informative I found in a wine forum:

"Malbec grapes, said to be originaries from Cahors, France - known there also as "Cot" - seem to have found their ideal terroir in Argentina to result in outstanding red wines. Specially appreciated are the Malbec´s from the Mendoza area; and therein, the region known as "Primera Zona" (Zone 1), located at the Andes piedmont along the Mendoza river, produce the most awarded ones. The northern Cafayate and San Juan zones are making also very good wines with this grape variety.

As varietal wines, there are some types that a wine-lover can distingish with no doubt: Those "french-styled" Malbec´s with plenty of aromas and medium bodied (e.g. Lurton, Altavista, Chandon, Fabre-Montmayou); those younger and spiced, with no or very few oak (e.g. Salentein, Catena, Trapiche, Santa Julia) and those fully bodied with plenty of tanins and well balanced in oak (e.g. Weinert, Norton, Luigi Bosca).

Very well accepted is the cuvée made by many argentine wineries that assemble Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to produce some of their best-buy wines: e.g. Carrascal (Weinert), San Felipe (Rutini), Clasico (Norton), Valmont (Chandon), Carcassone (Escorihuela).

In my humble preference, my favorite malbec´s are 2 ones: The traditional Fond-De-Cave made by Trapiche and the strong FAPES 1999 from Uco Valley (the "star"zone for producing wines in Mendoza)."