Varietal: 100% Malbec
Region: Mendoza – Argentina
Cost: $19.99 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Intense red color with violet tones. Â Aromas of wild berry and dark plum with a hint of coffee. Â Berry and plum continue to the palate with smoke and vanilla joining through the persistent finish. Â Pairs well with red meat entrees, Beef Wellington, roasted leg of lamb, grilled vegetables, and semi-firm cheeses.
My Thoughts: So, if you read my post on what I served during Christmas, you know that I’ve already opened up a bottle of the 2008 Antigal Uno Malbec. Â However, I wasn’t taking notes, nor pairing it with anything, so I was glad to have a second bottle to review at a later time. Â This is that later time. Now before I launch into my review of the wine, I want to take a moment to speak on packaging.
I know that there are plenty of websites out there that speak about wines hiding inferior juice behind a splashy label, and I’ll be the first to admit that this is true. Â However, there’s something to be said for taking pride in your product, and wanting it to look great on the shelf as well as taste good in the glass. Antigal has done a great job of that here, with an attractive bottle design, with the raised copper number one on it, that makes the bottle stand out on the shelf and hopefully entices more people to try it. Â Now, on to the review.
My wife was spending dinner out with a friend, so that left me home alone to cook up a steak and take some notes for a review of the Antigal Uno Malbec. The wine is a deep red color, but if you manage to get any bubbles from pouring, you’ll instantly see the hints of violet that are present. The nose is full of berry and plum notes, and you do get that hint of coffee at the very end of the nose, but it’s subtle so I actually had to almost actually get some of the wine up my nose to really get it.
In the mouth the berry flavors in particular carried over and were nice and bright. On the back end of the wine you do get a bit of creaminess that I don’t know that I would call vanilla, but I understand how some people would. A bit of smoke and the vanilla stick with a finish that certainly lingers for a while, which is not a bad thing.
With a dinner of a NY Strip and baked potato it was a perfect compliment. The berry flavors were a nice counterpoint to the richness of my steak, while the lingering finish and more robust flavors on the end of the wine helped to compliment the steak as well. This wine is just proof of why Malbec is quickly becoming my go-to varietal for steaks.
For the price, it’s hard to argue against giving this bottle a try, and if you’re looking for a gift for the wine lover in your life, the bottle design on this alone makes it a great present. Â If you can’t find the 2008 Antigal Uno Malbec at your local store you can follow this link and purchase the wine online, which I highly recommend. This is one of those rare bottles that I would actually spend more than the suggested retail price, so get it while it’s at a good price, because I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
