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MALBEC

Malbec is one of the most exciting, vibrant and versatile wines on the market.

For centuries, malbec has played backup to some of the world's most revered wines, adding damson flavour to Bordeaux, rhythm to Loire reds, and a gamey beat to the wines of sunny southwestern France. However, malbec's breakthrough performance is in Argentina. Here, the wines are juicy, ripe, exuberant and complex, with a structure rarely found elsewhere in the world.

It's not quite clear why malbec doesn't excel in Bordeaux, perhaps because the variety is highly vulnerable to frost, mildew and rot, which is enough to deter any grape grower.

Malbec was nearly wiped-out in the 19th century by a nasty root-piercing bug called phylloxera and, when devastated again by frost in the 1950's, most Bordeaux properties opted to increase their merlot plantings rather than take another risky bet on malbec. True, malbec is still used in Bordeaux wines, but the percentage is always well under 10 per cent, whereas in Argentina, malbec is so compelling that it prances on centre stage.

Jos?Manuel Ortega Gil-Fournier, owner of highly acclaimed O. Fournier, explains that 'Malbec is Argentina. Malbec is finesse. Malbec is the heart of Argentina. It's a great variety. It's interesting that it didn't work out that well in France, while it's just blossoming in Argentina. It's also the beauty of wine. This is not Coca-Cola. This is not beer. There are a lot of conditions that make grapes work extremely well in one area and extremely poorly in another, so I think Argentina represents all the good things that wine has to offer'.

Argentina's top malbec vineyards are in the Mendoza region, nestled along the foothills of the Andes mountains, the world's highest mountain range outside of Asia. Here, planted on high plateaus, the grapes expose their faces to intense ultraviolet light in surprisingly cool conditions. The higher one climbs in the Andes foothills of Mendoza, the cooler the temperatures. We see a similar effect in Hong Kong: The Peak is always cooler than Central or Tsim Sha Tsui.

Planted in the highest vineyards in the world, Mendoza's malbec ripens during long sunny days tempered by cool evening temperatures. This allows the variety to ripen slowly, extending its ripening period up to three or four weeks longer than when grown in France. Argentine malbec shivers with cold each evening, but the result is a ripe, lush wine that retains a crisp acidity as crucial to wine balance as rhythm is to the tango.

In fact, chat with an Argentine winemaker, and they refer to their wine portfolio by altitude.

Daniel Pi, winemaker at multi-award winning Trapiche winery, says: 'Every time you go up 199 metres, the temperature drops one degree. Changes in the temperature help to increase the colour and also the flavours, so at higher elevations we get more floral flavours, like violets and cherries.'

On the other side of the great Andes mountains are Chile's sun-drenched wine regions and, seeing Argentina's great success with malbec, they have begun experimenting with this versatile variety. California and South Africa recently boosted their malbec production, and South Australia is taking a second look at its historical plantings. Why historical plantings? Shouldn't sunny Australia have a booming portfolio of malbec?

Richard Warland, former Hardys winemaker, laments the country's limited production. 'Malbec's smaller berries over-deliver on flavour and colour. Australia grubbed it out years ago in favour of cabernet and shiraz. Their loss was Argentina's gain.'

Neill Robb, winemaker and owner of central Australia-based Redbank and Sally's Paddock wineries, adds insight as to the small plantings in Australia. 'Malbec is an uncertain bearer and inconsistent as to quality, so is usually blended in the same manner as cabernet franc, but it is capable of greatness.'

Be wary, though, as many malbec producers overdo the staging: spicy vanilla-scented oak aromas from masses of new French barrels can mask the grape's talent.

Even in malbec's historic French stronghold, Cahors, producers have now started using new oak, though the more restrained, gamier base-notes and drier, firmer French tannins still mark Cahors with a distinctly French rhythm. California wine commentator Kerry Winslow (GrapeLive) enthuses about Cahors' malbec, pointing out that region provides 'especially big flavours without the big Bordeaux prices'.

Tim Wildman, a distributor and master of wine based in Britain, explains Argentina's wild success in the international markets. 'There's some truth in the fact that malbec is working in Britain because it has a simple message: one grape, one country, one style [more or less], affordable, and one food matching message - drink with steak.'

Is Argentina dangerously over-reliant on this simple message? 'That's an extremely good point,' says Susana Balbo, winemaker and owner of Mendoza's highly regarded Dominio del Plata winery and former chair of Wines of Argentina. 'We are actually overestimating the importance of malbec as a single variety and I think we may get in trouble if we continue to push the importance of malbec as a single variety.'

Not to worry. In judging the Wines of Argentina competition in Mendoza last year, it was intriguing to note how many winemakers are successfully experimenting with malbec and cabernet sauvignon, or shiraz blends.

Malbec is a richly-flavoured variety, described by New York importer Marko Radisic as 'dark, stewed fruit, lush mouth feel, cedar, tobacco and spice', or more cheekily by South African winemaker Mike Ratcliffe of Vilafonte with four r's: 'rich, round, robust and raunchy.'

Whether you favour raunchy or elegant, good quality malbec can be found via Hong Kong suppliers such as Concord, Cottage Vineyards, Force 8, Kedington, Northeast, Orient Pacific, Ponti, Telford and Watsons. But heads up, many bars and restaurants see malbec as a cheap wine-by-the-glass offering and don't always serve malbec that is up to scratch.

Make sure the bottle is freshly opened and, where possible, order the most expensive malbec on the menu: don't worry, malbec is still so affordably priced that your credit card won't miss a beat.

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