J. Opi: A Steak-Loving Wine for People who Love Steak

Despite the title, this wine works for anyone who loves a great bold red wine.  Every once in a while my mom gets an order of wines from Wall Street Journal Wine Club.  Luckily, she always orders a little extra to give to Pris and I since she knows we love wine.  We decided to open one of the bottles she gave us to go with a marinated sirloin I grilled up for dinner.  And to go with a big rich steak? A Malbec from the folks who know and love beef and wine.

We opened up a bottle of J. Opi's 2009 Malbec.  While we both wanted a Malbec for dinner, Pris had her heart set on this one after reading about the awards and accolades.  The J. Opi has won the Malbec Trophy, and the Argentinean Best Red Trophy at the 2009 Decanter World Wine Awards.  Strong work in a field crowded with great steak loving wines.

The J. Opi is a dark purple wine with a heavy complex aroma of dark berries.  The wine is almost smooth on the palate, but stout tannins keep this wine full and dry.  Full fruit flavors of plum and cherry dominate the wine, but there's still a undertone of wood and smoke.  The wine finishes as strong as it starts, and lingers nicely in the mouth.

Everything Pris read said to pair this wine with steak, and everything she read was right on.  This wine went amazingly well with a marinated sirloin from Bob Stark's Beef Shop, some toasted brioche, and manchego cheese.  Tonight we actually finished off the bottle with some skillet heated grilled ribs and manchego cheese.  Again, it was a fantastic pairing.  It seems that this wine will pretty much go with any beef dish.  If you're looking for something for steaks, beef ribs, or other beefy meals then look no further.

Since this is a WSJ Wine, you have to go to their website to order it.  You can find the wine, and more information at: www.wsjwine.com