This was part of a Malbec comparison between France and Argentina, and for me this was clearly the better. Both were similar in price and year, but completely different in character. Decanted for an hour. Appearance: very dark, almost black, with an edge not quite violet (4/5). Nose: quite reticent compared to the Argentinian, dried fruits like apricot and slight hint of smokiness (10/15). Palate: dried fruits follow on the palate, quite pleasant. Tannins are quite evident, drying the tongue afterwards. The wine was not austere, but compared to the Argentinian, quite restrained with more structure (14/20). Overall: this was quite a pleasant wine, would be good with a nice steak or some other meat with some fat on it (7/10).
This was part of a Malbec comparison between France and Argentina, and for me the former was clearly the better. Both were similar in price and year, but completely different in character. Decanted for an hour. Appearance: very dark, almost black, with a violet edge (4/5). Nose: an explosion of fruit with distinct notes of toasted oak. This is really fruit forward and aggressively so (9/15). Palate is also very fruit forward, there are some tannins, but they are lost in the wall of fruit. Very sweet compared to the French wine and also lots of oak. Not my style at all (12/20). Overall: I guess this would be called a New World-styled wine. Ouch is all I can say, it certainly turns me off of wanting to try any other New World wines, although technically there is nothing wrong with it (6/10).
2004 Château Haut-Monplaisir Cahors Tradition 85 Points
France, Southwest France, Cahors
This was part of a Malbec comparison between France and Argentina, and for me this was clearly the better. Both were similar in price and year, but completely different in character. Decanted for an hour. Appearance: very dark, almost black, with an edge not quite violet (4/5). Nose: quite reticent compared to the Argentinian, dried fruits like apricot and slight hint of smokiness (10/15). Palate: dried fruits follow on the palate, quite pleasant. Tannins are quite evident, drying the tongue afterwards. The wine was not austere, but compared to the Argentinian, quite restrained with more structure (14/20). Overall: this was quite a pleasant wine, would be good with a nice steak or some other meat with some fat on it (7/10).
Click here if you have any questions, I'll be happy to discuss this wine on the CT Forum
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2005 Bodega Norton Malbec Reserve 81 Points
Argentina, Mendoza
This was part of a Malbec comparison between France and Argentina, and for me the former was clearly the better. Both were similar in price and year, but completely different in character. Decanted for an hour. Appearance: very dark, almost black, with a violet edge (4/5). Nose: an explosion of fruit with distinct notes of toasted oak. This is really fruit forward and aggressively so (9/15). Palate is also very fruit forward, there are some tannins, but they are lost in the wall of fruit. Very sweet compared to the French wine and also lots of oak. Not my style at all (12/20). Overall: I guess this would be called a New World-styled wine. Ouch is all I can say, it certainly turns me off of wanting to try any other New World wines, although technically there is nothing wrong with it (6/10).
Click here if you have any questions, I'll be happy to discuss this wine on the CT Forum
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