Bay Harbour: January 13, 2021

Wednesday January 13 2021
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
BAY HARBOUR
PAGE 9
Wine
Malbec plantings have increased with popularity
• By Mark Henderson
THE RED GRAPE malbec is a
native of France, where it is best
known as one of the “so-called”
Bordeaux varieties, which is made
up by cabernet sauvignon, merlot,
cabernet franc, petit verdot,
carmenere and malbec.
Widely planted in Bordeaux in
the 1800s, the devastation caused
by the vine louse phylloxera saw
plantings diminish significantly.
The savage frost of 1956 then
almost dealt the coup de grace
with plantings further decimated
and replaced by cabernet
sauvignon and merlot.
More recently the variety
has begun to regain favour and
plantings have slowly climbed
once more.
The variety may have an even
longer history in Cahors in southwest
France where, unusually,
SOIL AND
HARDFILL
DUMPING
malbec is the dominant grape
variety – appellation rules
requiring a minimum of 70 per
cent malbec in the finished wine
and where plantings comprise
roughly 50 per cent of the French
total.
It often flies solo here, but can
also be blended with tannat and
other varieties.
Malbec is also found in the
Loire under its synonym cot.
All these pale into comparison
with Argentina, where this grape
variety has become the figurehead
for the local industry.
The north-western region of
Mendoza is a powerhouse of
grape growing and winemaking,
producing nearly three-quarters
of all the wine in Argentina.
Increasing volumes are being
imported here, where its modest
price and generous flavours are
finding many converts.
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In New Zealand, it is mostly
seen as the supporting act in
blends such as cabernet malbec
or merlot malbec and barely a
handful of producers making
a varietal version. Its 111ha
(according to New Zealand
Winegrower figures) makes it
our fifth most widely planted red
grape variety, with roughly 75 per
cent found in Hawke’s Bay.
Deeply coloured, it has plum
flavours similar to merlot, often
with an earthy or slightly “rustic”
twist and powerful tannins.
2017 Pegasus Bay malbec
Price: $32.50
Rating: Very good to excellent
Fascinating, brooding nose
with earth, forest floor and dark
fruit characters, cigar box too.
There’s an intriguing rusticity
here, leafy, forest floor notes and
earthiness, powerful fruits and
excellent tannic backbone.
This really grows on me, built
for the future while developing
textural richness and a long
close.
I may be underscoring this.
www.pegasusbay.com
2019 Saint Clair James
Sinclair Hawke’s Bay
malbec
Price: $28
Rating: Very good to excellent
Powerful earthy notes, humus,
burnt bramble, an intriguing
rusticity, plumy fruit lurking,
perfume growing. Dense and
blocky, square jawed rather than
rounded with cocoa powder/dark
chocolate, a bittersweet character
and ever-building plum fruit.
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Takes its time out of the blocks,
initially chewy and grippy, but
fleshes out and softens nicely
showing depth and richness.
www.saintclair.co.nz
2017 Church Road 1 Single
Vineyard Gimblett Gravels
malbec
Price: $90
Rating: Excellent
Perfumed, cedary oak,
berryfruits, spices, fragrant herbs,
plum with time. Powerfully rich
and dense showcasing plum and
blackberry fruit with equally
powerful tannins to match, a little
hand-to-hand combat in a glass.
This is big, a real impact wine
yet there’s polish and elegance to
it too. Time will be a friend, or
pair with appropriate food.
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