Catena Malbec `08 (not TJ's) £11.99/$19.20 ***

My Argentinian Malbec experiment is in London tonight.  We had venison steak with a red wine/cranberry sauce, baked potatoes and frozen solid peas. Dinner was rushed (hence the frozen peas - an English delicacy (unique to this family) because we were seeing an 8:00 showing of "The Kings Speech". (great movie btw, it deserves all of the Oscars that it is sure to get)

VCE served me a glass already vinturied. It was smooth, a bit dusky, rich with blackberry and current with a leathery/acidic finish.

It was interesting to have wine in reverse. After I finished my first glass, I tried the wine unaerated.  It was a bit rougher, still fruity with a leathery finish. 13.5% ETOH it is a good, robust, flavorful wine.  Two hours later when we got home from the movie, the wine was even better.  Moral of the story, DECANT THIS WINE.


Bodega Catena Zapata is an innovative Argentinian Winery that really is exemplary for a good transition from old world to new world wine.  They have taken a classic taste and made it their own. This Catena Malbec is an excellent wine. I can now officially say that I am a fan of Malbec on two continents.

My England/Argentina connection is in the picture below.  

I was lucky that Lucie came to visit on an extended stopover in NY
on her way back home to London
after a week of  Polo camp in Pila, Argentina.

She showed up with two bottles of Argentinian Malbec in hand,
and they are waiting back in NY in the rack to be reviewed.