North Sydney Cellars

Winemaker's tasting note on the Dolium malbec 2004: Deep and intense wild blueberry and dark vine fruits showcase this varietal. The intense blue purple colour attests to the wine’s power and concentration. The flavour is pure ripe berry, plum with a nuance of sweet tobacco. The tannins are sleek and silky lingering generously into a rich mouth filling finish. Drink now or cellar 3 - 4 years.

 

The malbec is a grape variety in which Argentine wine makers excel. The Malbec grape also known as Cot, Malbeck or Pressac originally from France, was introduced from Bordeaux into Argentina around 1860 by Monsieur Peugeot.

 

The Argentine Malbec produces big red fruity wines of unique characteristics that typically exhibit complex dark vine berries, red tree fruits and dried fruits such as figs or jams complemented by spices, oak, chocolate, coffee and at times you may discover leather, minerals, sweet tobacco, smoke, truffle or molasses.

 

Generally they are all very delightful when young but will still develop well with a little age in the bottle. Without doubt some of the better Malbecs will age very gracefully indeed, gaining more complexity and character over the decades to come. They are the type of wines to be enjoyed with rich foods or fine cheeses.

 

Malbec fruit are loosely bunched thick skinned grapes with high acidity and lots of tannin.

 

They are a demanding grape with regards to ecological conditions and vineyard management particularly during the ripening and harvest months. In this period the grape requires good thermal amplitude, with cool nights and daytime temperatures below 30 C being the ideal conditions to preserve the colouring intensity and total polyphenois of the fruit.

 

Once at the winery the most common method is to de-stem only and after a short cool pre fermentation period allow carbonic maceration (usually with added yeast). However some producers crush up to 40% of the fruit to provide more berry aromas.

 

Fermentation usually takes place in closed stainless steel tanks, open tanks or occasionally oak barrels. Lastly most Malbecs are bottled without fining or filtering.

Quantity:123