13 May Uncorked #9: 2010 Casillero del Diablo Malbec
We spent this last weekend as a mini vacation in Minneapolis and had such a great time! Here’s is our view of downtown from our hotel room. We had two great bottles of wine while there and I will post one this week and the other next week.
This week’s wine is:
Region: Rapel Valley, Chile
Our lovely bottle model is Melissa, a family friend (or practically an adopted sister) of my husband. Anyways, she has recently been diving into Malbecs, so we picked out this one to try. We were staying in a hotel room, so we poured the wine into the classiest plastic cups (you know the ones that come wrapped in plastic in your hotel room) and headed down to the hot tub with wine in hand. Upon trying the wine, my first thought was “WOW! This thing is sharp*!!” I set it down and decided to let it breathe*. After about 10 minutes we picked it back up and it was amazing the change in the wine! As Melissa said “The wine was bright at first, then fruity with a hint of spice. It’s better when allowed to breath for a while.”
Would I buy it again? Yes, we all agreed that we would buy it again. In fact, shortly after this wine I was a local wine store and met a girl who was pretty fond of this wine. She told me the translation of name is the Devil’s Cellar. Interesting name, considering the sharpness at first. The wine is a nice mid-ranged price and well worth a try.
Fun Wine Fact: The original Malbec vineyards were located mainly in France but a hard freeze in 1956 wiped out approximately 75% of the Malbec grapes. Now most of the Malbec vineyards are located in Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States.
Pairs Well With: Spicy foods such as Mexican, Latin, Cajun, Indian, and Italian dishes. They also pair well with grilled steaks, BBQ, sausage, and chili.
Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.
– Benjamin Franklin
*Sharp– Sharp and its opposite, smooth, are words used to describe the acidic taste in a wine. Sharp wines are those in which the acidity is an overpowering characteristic. Also called Acrid.
*Breathe– Letting a wine breathe simply means allowing the wine to contact oxygen. Helps soften the tannins and acidity and develops the nose.