This past Sunday I attended the Malbec World Day tasting held at City Winery which is located at 155 Varick Street.

I’m not sure what the “world” in world day tasting was since all of the wines poured at the event were from Argentina but Malbec is the signature grape from that country. I’ve never been a big fan of Malbec from Argentina since many times the wines are big fruit bombs. Many of the wines at the event were just like that but a few were made in a more restrained style. I was finding that the wines from the San Juan province in the western part of the country were made in the more restrained style probably because of the fact that most of the vineyards are in high elevations. They served some good grilled skirt steak with a garlicy chimichurri sauce for a typical Argentinean experience.

Some of the wines I liked: Bodegas Caro 2010 Amancaya, the 2010 Aruma and the 2009 Caro. Caro is a collaboration between Catena and the Rothschild’s. The Amamcaya had a big nose of stone fruits with a great balance with a long finish. The Caro had good complexity and a velvety finish. I had the Casa Montes 2009 “Don Baltazar” Malbec which had a beautiful nose of black cherries and mint with tight but silky fruit and a good grip on the finish. Their 2010 Ampakama Malbec was dark with sweet leather on the nose and chewy fruit that dropped a bit on the finish but was still drinking nicely. From Bodagas Renacer I had the 2008 Final Reserva Malbec which had a big perfume of red fruits with silky fruit and a good grip on the long finish. Their 2009 Enamore was an unusual wine. A blend of five grape varietals it was made in an Amarone style in which the grapes were allowed to partially dry before being made into wine. A raisiny nose with the bitter almond finish that you would find on an Amarone.

The 2010 Salentein Reserve Malbec was dark and dense with good mouthfeel and black fruits on the finish. Luigi Bosca poured his flagship wine, the 2007 “Icono” which is an equal blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a persistent dusty nose with a velvety long finish.