Oh the joy of finding a great value! The 2011 Diseño old
vine Malbec is a wine crafted in the great tradition of Argentine Malbec that
tastes much better than you would think for a $10 bottle. Malbec at this price
point can be jammy with way too much fruit, but not this one!
It has the hefty structure and complexity of great Malbec
and while the fruit is definitely there, it's balanced on a smooth beam of
mineral and subtle notes of tobacco. When pouring you immediately see its dark
inky color, a deep purple so dark it verges on black. The nose is subtle and
floral rather than like a jar of Smuckers.
It's supremely drinkable and a great food match, doing
well with anything from spicy tomato sauce pasta with spicy Italian sausage, to
sauteéd boneless chicken thighs. I most recently had this with a spiced pork
chop agrodolce accompanied with some lemon garlic Brussels sprouts and
butternut squash; it was very good! The pork chop is very easy to prepare and
you can find the recipe on my Pinterest page.
I rate this an 8.5 on my scale at the left.
I'd never heard of this and found it for 7.99 at a local store recently. I was really impressed for the price, but I'm not surprised at the good reviews online. I might have to buy them out of this one...
ReplyDeleteYes, Diseno has been consistent over the past couple years. I recently bought again and used it to make lamb stew!
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