Drinks of the Month

Wine of the Week: Norton Winemaker’s Reserve Malbec 2014

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on October 16 2016 at 10:04

Now that malbec has become the Rioja de nos jours there are so many brands on the market that it’s hard to choose which to buy.

They broadly fall into two camps - the lush, ultra-ripe ones (cheaper malbecs and most Argentinian ones) and the more restrained Bordeaux-like ones you find from Cahors in the south-west of France.

Of course there are crossovers - Argentinian malbecs that are made in a more classic style and French malbecs you could easily mistake from ones from the new world and this is one of the former.

It’s made by one of the older Argentinian producers Norton from 30-50 year old vines from the Lujan de Cuyo and Uco Valley regions - both considered prime areas for malbec - and is aged for a year in French oak and a further year in bottle before release. Treatment that easily justifies its normal price of £11.99 at Waitrose and makes its current promotional price of £8.99 a steal. It should age well too* so it's well worth buying some to tuck away for a couple of years.

It would pair well with any red meat especially (of course) steak. For other pairing ideas read

What food to match with malbec

*though I notice online that they're still on the 2013 vintage which I would be slightly more cautious about. Reckon on 6-12 months.

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