It’s time to put a little twist into these sparkling rosé wines we’ve been reviewing lately.  So, you’re probably familiar with malbec and know it to be a tasty, full red wine with deep, inky-dark color.  Would you believe that you can get a sparkling rosé wine out of it?  Well, not only can you get a sparkling rosé out of it, but you can get a downright awesome sparkling rosé from it.

Enter, Alma Negra Rosé Malbec.  This wine, like much malbec that we see in the US these days, comes from Mendoza, Argentina.  The winery is relatively young, starting with the 2003 vintage, although the vineyards where the grapes for this wine were grown have been planted for 18-20 years.

Calling this a rosé may even be a stretch.  It looks more like a sparkling white, but there is the slightest pink hue to the color.  Quite amazing to come from a grape normally known for its deep purple colors.

The nose offers a beatiful and harmonious blend of yeast, floral, lemon peel and raspberry aromas.  The palate is equally beautiful, with a mineral and citrus flavor that just tastes clean and refreshing.  It has a wonderfully creamy mouth feel too.  The floral notes return on the finish, which is also a touch salty.  This is a superb bottle of bubbly.

The suggested retail price is above our normal $20 limit, but I have seen this wine for as low as $16 at retail.  And the creepy face on the label is an added bonus.

Wine: Alma Negra Rosé Malbec
Variety: Sparkling Rosé Malbec
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12.8%
Rating: 90
Price: $24.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

Graffigna Wines is part of the Pernod Ricard portfolio of brands, although it has a rich history as a family-owned winery going back to 1870.

The Centenario line of wines was added in 1970, marking the centennial anniversary of the winery (in case you didn’t figure out the translation.)  And while many consumers are just excited about malbec from Argentina, this wine proves that Argentine cabernet sauvignon is something to get excited about too.

Beautiful is the first word to come to mind when smelling this wine.  It exhibits well-concentrated cherry aromas supported by blackberry, coffee and cocoa aromatics.  The palate offers ripe cherry, blackberry chocolate and black tea flavors with silky tannins.  It finishes exceptionally long with more of the cherry flavor, but also an earthy note from the tannins.  It’s a well-balanced and structured wine.

Wine: Graffigna Centenario
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 86
Price: $13.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Ricardo Santos is one of those brands that doesn’t do a lot of marketing, and doesn’t do a lot of storytelling.  Which means it’s a brand that we just don’t know much about, other than what the wines tell us.

Last year, we reviewed the 2008 Ricardo Santos malbec and we weren’t blown away by it.  But the 2009 has opened our eyes as to what this producer really has to offer.

The nose of this malbec is lively and interesting, with aromas of black cherry, blueberry, mocha and tobacco.  It’s all very harmonious too, which is important.  The palate is delicious, with juicy plum and black cherry flavors up front, followed by a spicy mid-palate and long finish.  The mouthfeel is nice, and the acidity is just right.

Putting the fancy descriptors aside, the equation that matters here is lively+interesting+harmonious+delicious = a really nice malbec.

Wine: Ricardo Santos
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.9%
Rating: 90
Price: $19.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

With a history going back to 1890, Pascual Toso is one of the oldest wineries in Argentina.  But similar to many of the older wineries in Argentina, they’ve seen a lot of growth and development in the past ten years or so.  They have a couple different lines of wine, including an Estate line and a Reserve line.  The Estate line wines are their entry-level offering, while the Reserve is a step up in price.  This wine is from the Estate line.

This is one of those wines that was OK, but didn’t totally knock my socks off.  We get that a lot.  Since we generally taste bargain wines, it comes with the territory.  It’s not that it’s a bad wine.  I certainly wouldn’t turn a glass down.  But at the same time, it didn’t offer much to get excited about.

This wine shows plum and raspberry on the nose, with a touch of clove adding complexity and character.  Yes, that sounds interesting, but the intensity is lacking a little bit.  The palate shows blueberry, plum and raspberry flavors with good acidity, but for a malbec it’s a little on the light side.  The tannins are soft.  It’s a very drinkable malbec, just a little underwhelming for this varietal.

Wine: Pascual Toso Estate Malbec
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 84
Price:  $12.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

While the roots of Bodega Norton go back to 1895, it’s seen a lot of changes over the past 20-some years. It was acquired by Austrian businessman Gernot Langes-Swarovski in 1989 and has seen a lot of investment since then to improve the quality and quantity of wine they produce.  In 2006 they were named one of the top wineries in the world by Wine Spectator magazine, a testament to the work they had done over recent years.

Norton produces a number of different lines of wine and this malbec is from their Reserva line, which is a step up from their entry-level wines but certainly not the most expensive wine they produce.

A question some readers might have, with this review going up right before Thanksgiving, is “can I serve a malbec with Thanksgiving dinner?”  And the answer is sure!  Why not?!

The aromas in this wine are on the darker side, with plum, black cherry, mocha and some clove to make it interesting.  The only complaint on the nose is that it’s a bit fumy from the alcohol, although it’s not so strong to be a total turn off.  The palate brings plum and cherry flavors with lively acidity.  It also has a touch of black pepper spice.    The tannins are moderate and the finish is fairly long.  While there’s not a lot to make this malbec stand out as unique, it is sturdy and pleasing.

Wine: Bodega Norton Reserva
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 86
Price:  $15.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

We’ve reviewed a number of Tercos wines in the past and found them to be reliably decent, although not necessarily stellar.  But still, sturdy wines for the price.  Most recently we reviewed their 2008 Tercos Malbec, and now it’s time to check out the 2009.  This one will be a short and sweet review.

The nose is kind of tight on this malbec, but it does offer some light blueberry and chocolate aromas.  The palate has plenty of cassis and black cherry flavors, although it’s a little bit on the tart side.  It finishes with more fruit and slightly bitter tannins.  This is not at the top of my malbec list, but it is plenty drinkable.

Wine: Tercos
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.8%
Rating: 84
Price:  $12.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

If you haven’t seen it yet, my column in the latest issue of Mutineer Magazine is all about malbec.  But it’s not all about 100% malbec, it also includes this malbec blend from Clos de los Siete.

While there are a lot of pure varietal wines that I love, some of the most exciting wines I’ve been tasting recently have been red blends.  This particular one is 57% malbec, 15% merlot, 15% cabernet sauvignon, 10% syrah and 3% petit verdot.

Clos de los Siete was a project started in 1998 by Michel Rolland, who had worked as a consultant in the Argentine wine business for several years.  The idea was to create European-style wines from Argentina.  Rolland partnered with a number of French producers on the project.  The “Siete” in the name means “seven” as in seven partners created this project.

And while the history is interesting, we like to get straight to the point here.  How’s the wine?  In a word, it’s outstanding.

This wine has a nice, distinctive nose with a wonderful chocolate aroma.  It also shows black currant and blackberry aromatics.  The palate brings a well balanced bounty of black currant, blackberry and plum flavors up front, evolving into dark chocolate.  The acidity and mouth feel are both stellar.  But most importantly, this wine is just delicious!

And while the suggested retail price is twenty bucks, I’ve seen it on sale for under $15.

Wine: Clos de los Siete
Variety: Malbec blend
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14.0%
Rating: 90
Price:  $19.99
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

I talk every now and then about finding brands that you trust.  It’s good to find a few brands that always seem to get it right, vintage after vintage.  Brands that can be your go-to wines when you’re looking for a certain varietal or region.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to be adventurous and explore different wines.  But every now and then, you just want to grab something you know.  And when it comes to Argentine wines, Kaiken is one of those brands for me.

Kaiken concentrates their production on malbec and cabernet sauvignon.  They do have a couple wines with different varieties, but cabernet and malbec are their specialty and they do both very well.

Vanilla, violets, blackberry and plum tie together to create an exciting and aromatic nose on this wine.  And the flavors are just as fabulous, with plum, blackberry and dark chocolate adding some complexity.  There’s a leathery aspect on the finish, which also brings some black tea-like tannins and a lingering plum flavor.

If you like a malbec with rich fruit flavors balanced by earthy tannins and chocolate, then this is a good choice.  And if you like spending only ten dollars for a tasty wine, then this becomes a great choice!

Wine: Kaiken Reserva
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 88
Price:  $10.00
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Last night, we reviewed a very good, although relatively pricey, malbec from Cruz Andina.  Well, tonight, we’re checking out what a malbec for under $10 can deliver.

I sometimes like to give a little background story about a wine, but with this one I don’t really have much story to share.  This brand is part of the E&J Gallo family.  And that’s about all I have for you, other than my tasting notes — which will reveal that even without a rich story, I found this wine to be quite satisfying.

This wine has a fruit-laden nose with outstanding intensity.  It smells beautiful, with aromas of blackberry jam, black currant and chocolate.  It tastes fantastic too with blueberry and blackberry flavors and vibrant acidity.  The tannins are moderate.  The finish is long with tangy berry flavors and a touch of spice.  All told, this is a lively, fruit-forward and very drinkable malbec.

I mentioned that it is under $10, but I didn’t mention how much under.  It’s a mere eight bucks.  And at that price, this wine is a steal!

Wine: Bodega Elena de Mendoza
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.8%
Rating: 87
Price:  $8.00
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Want a second opinion?  Here’s what others had to say about this wine:

• Benito’s Wine Reviews
• Wine at Five
• The Cork Chronicles
• Cheapskates Wine Guide

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

So… you say you like malbec?  Me too.  Who can resist it, with it’s dark, silky-purple color, dense fruit flavors and floral aromatics.  It’s no wonder this varietal has skyrocketed in popularity over the past ten years.  And Argentina is the source for most of the exciting, new world malbec.  And that’s what we’re going to explore for the next few reviews.

One of the trends we look for here at Cheap Wine Ratings is which producers consistently produce good wines.  And one of the Chilean wine producers we’ve come to trust as being consistently good, is Veramonte.  But why, you might ask, am I talking about Chilean producers when this review is about an Argentine malbec?  Well, Veramonte is not just a Chilean producer, but they are also producing Argentine malbec under the Cruz Andina name.  And this malbec reinforces Veramonte’s status as a brand we trust and like… a lot!

The fruit in this malbec comes from Luján de Cuyo and Uco Valley, the most prized appellations for malbec in Mendoza.  Based on what we tasted in this wine, we can see why these appellations are prized.

There’s a lot of clarity on the nose of this wine, and by that I mean that the aromas are distinct, not muddled together.  Black cherry, violet and black pepper fragrances blend together beautifully, yet express their own distinct notes at the same time.  On the palate, it’s brimming with plum and blueberry fruit, which is so concentrated that it’s almost chewy.  Some spice kicks in mid-palate and carries through an exceptionally long finish.  The mouth feel is nice too.  In a nutshell, this is a great malbec!

This malbec is bigger and better structured than many other lower-priced malbecs we’ve tasted, which tend to be more fresh and fruit-forward.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty of fruit in this wine.  But it has more depth and complexity, beyond just the fruit, and that is one of the things that makes this wine stand out.

The price is at the upper end of our typical price range, but if you want a wine that really stands out it may be worth it for you.

Wine: Veramonte Cruz Andina
Variety: Malbec
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 92
Price:  $19.99
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.