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I grabbed today’s wine on my trip to Bottle King last week. Since it was my first visit, naturally I had to wander around and get a sense what they had in stock. I was very happy to find this 2018 Chateau du Cedre 'Cedre Heritage' Malbec.

Argentina has become the biggest and most popular producer of malbec in the world, but the grape was first imported from France in about 1848. Shortly after, the Great French Wine Blight began, in the 1860s, wiping out thousands of acres of vineyards. Only about 13,000 acres of malbec exist in France today, mainly in the Cahors region in the southwest, compared to 76,000 in Argentina, more than three-quarters of all the malbec grown in the world.

You’ll want to serve this with just a slight chill on it. I get blackberry on the nose and a bit of a woodsy note. The blackberry continues on the palate along with some cocoa. The finish isn’t super long, but what do you want for about $13 on sale? Tannins aren’t too overpowering, and just felt them as a rim around my bottom teeth. This isn’t as full bodied as a cab sauv, so we need to lighten up on pairing. More lean sirloin than a ribeye.

Which style of malbec do you prefer? Hit me up and let me know!