Malbec

Once the "black wine" of Cahors, now Argentina's signature red: deep purple, plush and plummy.

Red
Home: Cahors region, south-west France
Argentina, France, Chile, USA

At a glance

Also known as

Côt
Auxerrois
Pressac

Colour

Red

Origin

Cahors region, south-west France — a cross of Prunelard and Magdeleine Noire des Charentes

Main regions

Mendoza (Argentina), Cahors, small amounts in Bordeaux and the Loire, Chile

Varietal or blend

Both. Single-variety in Argentina and (mostly) Cahors; a minor Bordeaux blending grape.

Body & sweetness

Medium to full-bodied, dry.

Taste & style

Flavour: Plum, blackberry and black cherry, violets, cocoa; Cahors adds a more tannic, earthy note.
Style: Inky colour. Argentine wines are soft and ripe; Cahors is firmer and more rustic.

In the vineyard & winery

Growing: Sensitive to frost, rot and poor flowering (coulure) in France. Thrives in Mendoza's high-altitude, sunny, dry vineyards.
Winemaking: Often aged in oak; high-altitude Argentine fruit keeps freshness without much intervention.

Food matches

Grilled steak and asado
Burgers and barbecue
Empanadas
Blue cheese

Notes

Much Bordeaux Malbec was lost after the 1956 frost.
World Malbec Day is 17 April.

From the glossary

Semi-classic grape grown in the Bordeaux region of France and in other areas under the name Côt or Pressac and in the Alsace has the local name Auxerrois. Has an extensive listing, currently more than fifty, of synonym grapenames.

From the Wine Grape Glossary by Anthony J. Hawkins (1931–2018), reproduced with authorship credit as he requested. Written in the 1990s.