Monday, February 6, 2012

Tasting Week 3: llama


Variety: Malbec (old vine 100+yrs)
Region: Alto Agrelo Valley, Lujan de Cuyo
Country: Argentina
Year: 2010
Price: $11.99
Food?: Not paired with food.





Winery Review:
Rich ruby-purple colored, Llama boasts elegant flavors of blackberries, ripe plum, and robust spices with good balance and structure enhanced through aging six months in French oak barrels.


My Review:
This deep magenta red will not disappoint on llama-filled goodness.  Not only does this red feature a pretty fly silver embossed label, I found it to live up to its "robust spicy" llama-like nature.  Even from first sniff, I could detect a rich peppery note along with a subtle dark sweetness, that flooded the senses and the palate upon first tasting. While I would say the peppery/spicy notes were the loudest by far, I also found the wine quite noticeably balanced by very cool and muted notes of dark berries towards the mid-end palate.  While there is not much heat from the alcohol, I do notice a tingly/stinging sensation mid-palate that I would attribute to the Argentinian spices.  Over-all I would say that this was a little too spicy for my taste, but may pair nicely with chocolate.  Perhaps a little nutella is in order?

No comments:

Post a Comment