Bring a Bottle Podcast: Episode 103

We’ve got the best case of déjà vu, because for Episode 103 of the Bring a Bottle podcast, we’re joined by cheese & wine sage Jessica Summer again! We further explore the beautiful Graffigna Malbec and Jessica walks us through an example cheese and wine tasting session, featuring some absolute must hear tips. We also try a delightful hazelnut liqueur you’ll want to try and get our sommelier on with some rather challenging pairings!

Our Guest Drinker

If you missed last week, then Jessica owns the Mouse and Grape, a luxury cheese and wine business that not only sells amazing hampers, but also does private tastings, corporate events, and hen parties. Jessica is fully armed with WSET Level 3 and Cheese Academy Level 2, so what she doesn’t know isn’t really worth knowing.

What’s In Our Glass?

We’re still loving the Graffigna Genuine Collection Reserve Malbec, 2020, with its lovely light quality that’s surprising for a Malbec. From the prestigious Uco Valley in Mendoza, the high altitude creates a concentrated wine bursting with flavour. Think ripe blueberry and chocolate-coated raspberries. There’s a comforting oakiness from the aging that lends itself to pairing with grilled dishes, and a subtle chocolatey nose that would be lovely alongside, surprise surprise, some dark chocolate. So, it’s reliably by your side for main and dessert! It’s elegant, easy-drinking food wine that’s unbelievable for the price.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 13.5%
Find here: £9 Sainsbury’s

Cheese and Wine Tasting

Jessica is back with more eye-opening cheese and wine wisdom. We try Saint Nectaire French Cow’s Milk Cheese, a delicate and earthy cheese with velvety rind to match the oaked Malbec being sipped. The combination is beautifully savoury and it’s more than the sum of its parts, accentuating the tertiary flavours wonderfully. Listen for more great tips to get the most out of your cheeses – you’ll never eat it in the same way again.

Drinkers Discovery

Wafer biscuits on the nose, the appearance of an oaked Chardonnay…it’s Frangelico – an Italian hazelnut liqueur. It’s pleasantly light, and not too sweet like some Amaretto can suffer from. Serve it over ice and enjoy with some indulgent nutty chocolate like Ferrero Rocher.

Size: 700ml
ABV: 20%
Find here: £15.99

Instant Somelleier

Any rich ragu, roasted lamb, cauliflower cheese or anything like that, then this Graffigna would work super well, being such a distinctly light and fruity Malbec. But what about other pairings?

Let Jess take you through perfect pairings for Christmas Dinner, Fish & Chips, Steak, Blue cheese, fruit cake and more! As a rule of thumb, you need a wine that is as sweet or sweeter than your food!

Mailbag

This week’s question is, ‘How do you let someone know they’ve been given a really expensive wine without saying it?’

Helena as some perfect tips to let someone know they’ve been given something special so if you struggle with this, tune in till the end of the podcast!

The Story of Malbec and the Uco Valley

This article is brought to you by Graffigna Genuine Collection Reserve Malbec from the Uco Valley, with its silky chocolate tones, concentrated black and red fruit notes, a hint of graphite and spice. 

Arguably the best loved red wine grape worldwide, Malbec is enjoyed by novices and experts alike. It’s usually one of the most reliable wines on a wine list and at its price point, it over delivers. Let’s take a quick look at why the quality of Malbec from Argentina particularly is only going one way. 

A brief history of Malbec

Malbec vines have been around a long time; as long ago as Roman times apparently. It first, famously found favour with Eleanor of Aquitaine and Francis I in southwest France, where these ‘black wines’ still feature Malbec as the key grape in the appellation of Cahors. So prized was it by the French royalty, they had Malbec planted around France, where it made its way to the blender’s paradise of Bordeaux where it was used in the famous red blends. When the phylloxera aphid plague decimated Europe's vineyards in the nineteenth century, it did not fare well eventually, much of it was replaced by the hardier Cabernet and Merlot varietals. To this day however, Malbec is still officially permitted in Bordeaux wines and is affectionately known as Pressac in some parts.

Luckily for Malbec, a group of Argentine winemakers, some of them European immigrants, sought the advice of a French agronomist called Michel Pouget to look at how to improve wine quality in the country. Being French, Monsieur Pouget looked to the fine wine region of Bordeaux in France and brought out a variety of grapevines, including Malbec, to Argentina. In these dry, sunny vineyards, Malbec thrived in quite a different way to how it had in France, making wines that were more fruit-driven, soft and in today’s terms, commercial. Quickly establishing itself as Argentina's flagship red grape, it spread out to all wine provinces from Salta in the north to Patagonia in the South, via, of course, Mendoza. 

Malbec across Argentina

Plantings of Malbec across the core winemaking provinces of Argentina of Salta, Patagonia and Mendoza have done much to showcase the diversity of the grape. Very generally speaking, for example, the Malbecs from the particularly high altitudes of luminous Salta, often give a deeper coloured Malbec, like dark, salted chocolate. Down in Patagonia, the style seems to be more on the crunchy, red raspberry side and in Mendoza, Malbec is more about baked blueberries and raspberries dipped in milk chocolate and wrapped in velvet. 

In more recent years, different terroirs within these key provinces have been identified, where each gives their own nuance to the grape and therefore, the wine style. Mendoza, for example, which is the largest wine province by far, responsible for 76% of the country’s area under vine, is divided into five large sub-regions. These are the Uco Valley (includes the departments of Tunuyán, Tupungato and San Carlos), the Primera Zona (including Luján de Cuyo and Maipú), the Northern Oasis (Lavalle and Las Heras), the East (San Martín, Rivadavia, Junín, Santa Rosa and La Paz) and the South (San Rafael, Malargüe and General Alvear). 

World Class Malbec in the Uco Valley

Much new research, investment and development has been done in Argentina to get the most out of its diverse terroirs and vines. It is the Uco Valley in the southwest of the region however, running along the Tunuyán River, that is largely considered to be the finest wine producing region not just in Mendoza, but in the whole of Argentina. Here, a killer combination of high altitude, snowmelt from the Andes and brilliantly draining alluvial soils combine with over 250 days of sunshine every year and huge temperature swings between night and day. The result is exceptionally high quality grapes that give wines that are particularly intense in aroma and flavour, deeply coloured and richly fruited. And it’s not just about Malbec here, although that is the key grape to be found; Semillon, Chardonnay, Torrontes, Cabernet Franc, Bonarda and Barbera grow exceptionally well here too, so look out for wines made with these!

The Uco Valley has also seen great investment in its wine tourism, so it’s a fantastic place to visit, not just to taste incredible wine, but to stay in luxury boutiques with top class restaurants and take in the epic views while walking, hiking, horse riding and much more.

Try this:
Graffigna Genuine Collection Reserve Malbec, 2020 (£9 from Sainsburys £7.50 when on promotion)

A fresh and fruit-forward Malbec, showcasing black cherry and plum notes blending harmoniously with a touch of spice from the oak. It’s a voluminous wine, friendly and intense, with a very good , full and complex midpalate and excellent tannic structure. Taste it with grilled or roasted meats and vegetables or alone with a blanket by the fire.

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