2017 Alamos Malbec

Ah, what a busy day spent in Chicago for a meeting, but the good news is that I had a chance to visit Eataly while I was there!  I love Eataly and especially in early fall when they have a big sale on so many things from limoncello to proscuitto to buffalo mozzarella, it was outstanding!  So tonight I arrived back late on the train, what with the hour time change and all, so I'm working on dinner feverishly, but still need some time for a wine decompression, and tonight it's with a relatively young wine, the 2017 Alamos Malbec from Mendoza Argentina.  Now given the different seasons down there, with harvest coming around the same time we have bud break, the '17 vintage is really more like a '16 vintage for northern hemisphere wines, which just helps me over the psychological barrier of drinking a red wine a year old!  So let's see how this one tastes.

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass.  The nose presents aromas of warm spice, green grass, blackberry and cherry.  The taste is quite a departure from the aromas, as you are hit with a rush of black cherry and blackberry right up front which transitions nicely to some warm spice and notes of mocha and caramel midpalate.  The finish is somewhat subdued as the youthful tannins are somewhat erratic but supportive of a smooth dry finish, that's a bit brief.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, it's not the most spectacular Malbec I've had, but it's a great everyday wine, and a good value.  I bought this bottle at Trader Joe's for about $10 if I remember correctly.  So the wine tonight is clearly in a supporting role with my dinner of a nice pan seared veal loin chop with some roasted giant mutant Brussels sprouts and a loaded baked potato (yes I didn't plate it perfectly, but give me a break I was starving!).  Cheers!