Malbec

APPEARANCE

ON THE VINE: Malbec is a fairly heavy bearer, a wild grower with fairly big bunches and relatively loose, pitch-black grapes. The berries are large and break apart rather easily as they ripen.

 

IN THE GLASS: if picked fully ripe, the resulting wine is a deep black colour, while more ruby or deep purple when picked a little less ripe.

SMELL

Cherry and spice on the nose, following through to the palate.

TASTE

It can be a bit rustic – rather like a shorter-lived version of Merlot. In South Africa it produces a plummy, meaty wine, with intense raspberry and mulberry fruit undertones.

ORIGIN

Traditionally used in Bordeaux blends to add colour and density, it is the grape responsible for the "black wine of Cahors" – a legendary name in the 19th century. Malbec has lost popularity in France due to its susceptibility to disease, frost and poor berry set, yet it remains one of the five grape varieties permitted in a red Bordeaux blend.

IN SOUTH AFRICA

It arrived in the 1920s and was planted mostly in Paarl and parts of Stellenbosch, where it thrived in the rich soils and warm climate. In the early 1990s Backsberg produced the first single varietal Malbec, with Fairview following suit – wines made as fruity, easy-drinking wines, with some elegance if delicately wooded. Then followed several more full-bodied examples. Today, however, few single varietal wines are made from this variety, which tends to be more popular as a blend component.

ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD

While the variety can be harsh and tannic in France (usually needing merlot to soften it), in Argentina where it is grown extensively, it produces a softer, juicier style of red. Malbec is also planted on a small scale in Chile and Australia.

BEST EXAMPLES

From Argentina: Bodega Catena Zapata and Finca Flichman. In South Africa the variety is proving more successful in red blends, with single varietal Malbecs from the Cape including Anura, Ashanti, Bellevue’s Morkel, Fairview, Nederburg Auction Reserve, Signal Hill.

AGEING POTENTIAL

On its own, usually around five years. If made ripe and lush it is capable of extended ageing, but it doesn’t have the structure to compare with long-lived Cabernet Sauvignon.

MATCHING WITH FOOD

Light stews, bredies, bobotie, roasts and Italian food.

SERVING TEMPERATURE

Between 17 and 18° C.