The rise of the grape that’s at its best on mountain slopes is an epic tale
The story of malbec is an epic that begins in south-west France, and takes in vine plagues, medieval trade wars and a long struggle for recognition. Then it switches gears into a classic new-world rags-to-riches tale that concludes with the variety finally securing global fame from a lofty perch in vineyards in the Andes in western Argentina.
Until relatively recently I wouldn’t have said the wines made from this itinerant grape variety were quite as exciting as their origin story. The initial wave of malbecs to emerge from Argentina were certainly appealing. They had an innate plum and black cherry fleshiness, a mouthfilling plumpness and generosity that made them very easy to drink.
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