Of Flank Steak and Malbec: 2009 Lamadrid Malbec

 Last weekend we opened our final bottle of the month,  Lamadrid's 2009 Malbec from the Argelo region of Argentina.  We opened this bottle to go with a nice flank steak and a great little home-grown side dish.  Like the last Cab I reviewed, this wine was a little lighter than most that we've enjoyed, but thankfully still worked very well with dinner.

The Lamadrid had a great full nose loaded with berries and spice.  This was an exceedingly smooth wine that had great notes of blackberry, raspberry, and cassis at the front of the palate.  As the Malbec progressed more spice made its presence known. The Lamadrid offered a languid finish with supple tannins rounding out this flavorful wine.  While not as full bodied as a most Malbecs, this was not a drawback thanks to the great flavor and easy drinkability of this wine.

We paired the Lamadrid Malbec with a flank steak, which I've really enjoyed cooking because they're so versatile and flavorful.  I paired the flanks steak with some tomatoes and basil from our garden, and topped them off with homemade mozzarella. The whole affair was then drizzled with a chimichurri sauce cobbled together from herbs from the garden.  The steak and Malbec were a perfect pairing with the richness of the flank steak working well with the ripe berry and spice of the wine.  The fruit in the wine cut through the acidic sauce nicely and offered a great counterpoint. 

I picked up the 2009 Lamadrid Malbec at H.E.B. Central Market on one of our trips north last year.  It was $14 at Central Market.  I've seen it occasionally here in Brownsville at the H.E.B. on 802 and Paredes Line.  You can find out more about Lamadrid and their wines at:  http://www.vinodelsol.com/thewineries/lamadrid.html

A Light Cabernet for June: Alambrado's Gran Seleccion Cabernet Sauvignon

June has been unseasonable hot this year, so I'm going to blame the weather for our lack of wine drinking this month.  Sadly we've only opened two bottles, and both of them were from Argentina and were enjoyed fairly recently.  The first bottle was Alambrado's Gran Seleccion 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, one of our few remaining Wall Street Journal Wine Club selections.

This was an extremely light Cab, which made it better suited to the inhospitable heat.  The wine started off like most Cabs with a nose that was lively and rich with the proper dark berry and cherry notes.  However, the lightness was immediately noticeable on the palate. The usual fullness found in most Cabs was absent, but that wasn't entirely a bad thing.  Cherry and currant strike first followed by nice undertones of smoky oak.  Light tannins rounded out this easy drinking summer wine.  The Alambrado opened up very nicely the second day.  The flavors became richer, but it was still lighter than your standard Cab.

We opened the wine to go with a couple of NY strips that H.E.B. had on sale.  While the wine did not go as well as a deeper and full Cab would have, the Alambrado still did passably well with the nicely charred beef.  If you're a fan of traditional full Cabs, this wine is not for you.  However, if you're looking for a decently priced lighter red that is more akin to some of the Spanish and Italian reds then this is a great wine for you.

This was a Wall Street Journal Wine Club wine that is no longer available on their site.  You can still find it available at a few online retailers for about $13.

90+ Cellars Malbec: Big, Bold, & Delicious

First off, thank you Rhiannon Cizon for this great wine.  Pris' employee Rhiannon brought us a bottle of the 90+ Cellars 2009 Malbec for Thanksgiving dinner last year.  We already had our wine selections for the meal made so we set it aside for future consumption.  This last weekend we decided to open it up to pair it with a couple of NY Strips that I grilled up.

This Argentinean offering from the Mendoza region was one of the better wines we've had lately.  The first thing that hit was a nose full of bold dark berries.  On the palate this wine was loaded with smooth layers of blackberry, cherry, and blueberry.  Further down the palate spicy notes emerge to compliment the ripe fruit.  The Malbec had a big full finish mellowed somewhat by supple tannins. 

As stated earlier, the 90+ Cellars Malbec was opened to pair with a couple of steaks.  As usual, rich Argentine wine and beef were a perfect compliment.  This Malbec was well balanced and incredibly smooth.  This wine went great with the steak, but was exceedingly easy to drink all on its own the following night.

From what I can tell from its website, the 90+ Cellars brand similar to the Cameron Hughes in that they take wines from all over the world and bottle them under their own label.  We didn't buy this wine, so I'm not sure what the actual price is, but its listed for under $20 on the internet, and that is a great deal for this fantastic wine.  Its my understanding that Rhi picked up this wine at Feldman's Market Center here in Brownsville, and I'll definitely be looking for it on my next trip there.  For more information on 90+ Cellars' wines you can visit: http://www.ninetypluscellars.com/

Of Bacon Burgers and La Madrid's Bonarda

Thursday night I didn't really feel like cooking and I felt like eating some really unhealthy food.  In order to satisfy craving I decided to pick up a couple of bacon cheeseburgers and chili-cheese fries from Spanky's here in Brownsville.  To accompany our artery clogging feast Pris selected La Madrid's 2009 Bonarda from Argentina.  It turned out to be a fantastic choice for both Thursday and Friday night's meals.

The  Bonarda was bold, big, and somewhat sweet the first go around.  It offered a tangy nose with plum and ripe dark fruit.  Initially it was lighter and somewhat sweeter on the palate, but became more robust and nuanced as it opened up.  Dark fruit dominated the palate through and through, but the wine still remained well balanced on the palate. Subtle licorice notes appeared in the back of the palate and through the finish to balance out the heavy fruit up front.  The La Madrid Bonarda finished smoothly and softly with little fanfare leaving a nice crisp hint of spice and mineral.

This is a great wine to pair with a burger, but where it really shined was with the spicier foods.  On Friday I stuffed poblano peppers with a mix of chili, onions, jalapeno, corn, avocado, and cilantro.  They were spicy, tangy, and delicious and the Bonarda was perfect with them.  The ripe fruit paired perfectly with the heavy spice and cumin in the peppers. 

If you're looking for a wine to pair with heavily spiced Mexican or Southwestern food, this is it.  Open up the bottle and go to town with your meal.  If you're looking for something well balanced and a little more subtle and nuanced the La Madrid will also work for you.  If you're looking for the latter, just let it breathe for an hour or two before serving. 

We purchased the La Madrid Bonarda at the H.E.B. Central Market in San Antonio back in October.  It sells for $12.  For more information on the La Madrid wines you can visit: http://www.vinodelsol.com/

Christmas Dinner with Alma Andina

For Christmas Eve I planned out a nice little dinner of prime rib, sautéed asparagus, and mashed potatoes.  Despite a little hiccup with the freshness of the asparagus, the meal turned out well.  To go with our pre-celebration dining Pris selected a bottle of Alma Andina 2010 Malbec-Bonarda blend.  This ripe red from Argentina was a great compliment to this meal and our Christmas meal the following day.

The first thing you notice about the Alma Andina is the deep rich purple color, and immediately after that the ripe nose hits.  Exceptionally ripe blueberries and raspberries with an undercurrent of spice and vanilla assail the nose and give a hint of what was to come on the palate.  Rich raspberry, blackberry, and subtle oak all mingle on the palate.  The wine is full bodied but not overpowering or dry thanks to the blending of the Bonarda with the Malbec. This blend, while full flavored, offered soft tannins for a nice mellow finish that faded easily.

Pris was afraid the wine was going to over power the meal, but thanks to the mellowing effect of the Bonarda grapes this did not happen.  It turned out the wine went quite well with the rime rib and the balsamic vinaigrette I made for the salad.  While this was good to find out, what was really pleasant to discover was how well the wine paired with tamales on Christmas day.  The rich fruit in the wine was a great compliment to the spice and cornmeal in the tamales.  Pairing local foods with wine has generally been a touch difficult, but this is definitely one I would recommend to go with pork, chicken, and bean tamales covered in salsa.

The 2010 Alma Andina Malbec-Bonarda was another selection from the Wall Street Journal Wine Club.  At $12 a bottle its a pretty good everyday wine, even after you factor in the shipping costs.  You can find out more about this wine at: www.wsjwine.com

Back to Basics with Alamos Malbec

Even though we loaded up on meals while in San Antonio, I finally broke down and cooked a quick meal last Wednesday.   The prepared meals from Central Market are great, but there's something nice about grilling up your own hunk of beef.  To go with the sirloin we opened up a bottle of Alamos 2009 Malbec.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, you can't go wrong pairing beef and Argentine wine.

The Alamos Malbec is your typical big bold Malbec.  The nose was all dark berry and currant.  While the wine mellowed as it breathed, the bouquet stayed nice and full and bold.  On the palate this Malbec all bold and tannic.  Dark berries and cherries with hints of leather and tobacco flow nicely with each other across the palate.  As the wine goes down the boldness asserts itself.  Towards the mid-palate you start to get a nice touch of spice.  The Malbec finishes strong and full with audacious tannins.

It pretty much goes without saying that the wine and steak went great together.  We got the 2009 Alamos Malbec from our friend Isaac Guerra as an apartment warming gift.  Pris thinks it came from Jones Liquor before that though.  We have a 2010 we picked up, but that one is going to cellar for a bit. For more information about the Alamos Malbec you can visit: http://alamoswines.com/en/

Navarro Correas has a Nice Little Merlot

The last post of the month!  Early on it looked like we wouldn't get through too many wines this month, the drinking just wasn't happening.  But we've managed to get through a decent number of wines this month after all.  The final wine of the month is Bodegas Navarro Correas Collecion Privada 2007 Merlot.

The Navarro Correas Merlot was a good easy drinking every day wine.  It had a fruity nose with lots of ripe berry and a touch of musky earthiness.  On the palate you're hit with a well structured fruitiness that borders on sweet.  However, as the wine continues on its course it develops a bit more bite and fullness.  Along the mid-palate the berry fades and a nice oakiness comes to the fore.  The Merlot has a nice tannic finish that slowly fades after the sipping is done.

We paired the Navarro Correas Merlot with a paprika and flour breaded pan fried steak served with a tomato gravy.  It paired really well with the meal.  The fruitful wine countered well with the savory garlicky tomato gravy, and complimented the breaded beef portion all at the same time.

The Navarro Correas Collecion Privada Merlot runs about $10 a bottle.  We picked ours up at Jones Liquor here in Brownsville, but I've seen it around.  For the price its a great everyday wine that's really easy to drink.  It's mellow nature also will allow it to go with a number of different food pairings.  For more information on Navarro Correas and their wines you can visit their website here:  http://www.ncorreas.com/index.htm