Argentina and Those Pesky Malbec’s

Argentina and Those Pesky Malbec’s – Episode #296

August 20, 2007

Malbec is on fire and South America is taking full advantage and credit for this and you know what, good for them. Gary Vaynerchuk explores 4 new world Malbec wines for you today. LURKERS join us!

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Comments on this episode(245) Leave a comment ›

“sniffy-sniffy-sniff-sniff-sniff……WTF is that – what a tool…….p…” by addikt
“FYI Miami is 305…” by Stephan
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Wines tasted in this episode:

Alamos MalbecArgentine Malbec
2005 Ben Marco MalbecArgentine Malbec
2005 Susana Balbo MalbecArgentine Malbec
2002 Nieto Cadus MalbecArgentine Malbec

Links mentioned in todays episode.

WLTV Free Pack #1 (for the Aug 24th show)

245 Responses

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August 21, 2007

nyc621
Bummer about the oak monster. Can we start a petition? A group on facebook…”I hate the Oak Monster”.

QOTD: NYC with Sydney a close 2nd. Love the Thai food and the BYOB’s in Sydney, wish they did that more here.
August 21, 2007

wannaBconnoisseur
Starting to become a Malbec fan, good episode.

QOTD: Cincinnati, OH, my home town, great city, great people!
August 21, 2007

BW
QOTD: Park City, UT – great snowboarding, incredible mtn biking, good eating, close the airport (SLC) w/o all the big city hastles of traffic, crime, etc. – what more could you want. On the other hand, wine selection is limited by the state (altho I was pretty impressed with the selection at the state store last time I was there).
August 21, 2007

David
Great show, thanks for the Malbec education – seems like they are everywhere these days.

QOTD: Paris followed closely by New York.
August 21, 2007

Jayhitek
QOTD: From Boston. But loved San Diego. And Hamilton Bermuda was pretty sick as well.
August 21, 2007

sharon
Ohhhhh….How about ParisRomeSanfranciscoPortlandPerusiaSeattleMexicocityLondon
OsloAmsterdamBarcelona but when it really comes down to it L.A.or Hollywood
because that’s home and that’s the place I like the best.
August 21, 2007

streamertyer
You hit the nail on the head with the Alamos. I’ve had all of them since 2002. None were as good as the 2002. ‘05 was OK. Have to pick up the ‘06.
August 21, 2007

E
By the way:

“Malbec’s” is possessive.

“Malbecs” is plural.

Drives me nuts when people do that to apostrophes.
August 21, 2007

wtvLurker
gotham city
August 21, 2007

chenrys
Great show.
Got an Alamos Malbec today for Carl.

QOTD: I’m not well traveled and don’t really like cities much – probably either Asheville or Portland.
August 21, 2007

RLZ
Rome…great food, wine, women!
August 21, 2007

LeatherPalate
New York- New Orleans- Chicago
August 21, 2007

winecollector57
will oak, like tannins soften over time?….Does french oak impart as much “oak monster” profile as american oak?

QOTD…it’s tough to decide, but for one day, Venice Italy, for a weekend Paris, and for a week Rome.
August 21, 2007

mcj
QOTD: I’m not terribly well traveled, but my favorite cities that I’ve visited are Juneau, Alaska, Minneapolis, MN and Toronto, ON. Vancouver, BC, seemed pretty awesome as well, but I’ve only spent a few hours there.
August 21, 2007

Lynne
Great show, Gary, tho’ I got a little frightened there at the end. I thought maybe you were gonna reach through the camera and grab someone by the neck!;)

QOD: Tough question…we really prefer the great outdoors, so a city has to have quite a bit to offer to draw us there. We just got back from Chi Town and I have to agree with posters before me. Great midwestern town. ALL people we came into contact with were friendly and eager to help. (We were constantly asking for directions)
A city we would visit would have to have a colorful history, good foods and wines,and great blues. Memphis (didn’t find such great wines, but everything else was plentiful) New Orleans, Chi Town, San Fran and Asheville, NC have been some of my very favorites. Have never been to any foreign cities, but one day hope to.
August 21, 2007

RICARDO
Seville in Europe and
San Francisco in America.

the best Malbec is Catena Zapata.
August 21, 2007

Sassodoro
Great show, Gary, as always.

Interesting comment about winemakers working for other brands versus their own label. I’m sure you’re right that one can’t help putting more love into one’s own project. The winery’s website implies something to this effect by saying, “After twenty years of producing wines for others, Susana decided it was time to apply her education and experience to her own wines and put her name right on the bottle.” (BTW, Balbo once worked for NicolÃ¡s Catena, who makes the Alamos.)

However, the situation may be a little more complicated between the Susana Balbo and the BenMarco. Diablito mentioned that the BenMarco is produced by Susana Balbo’s husband, Pedro Marchevsky. Actually, both wines are produced by the same winery, Dominio del Plata, that they own and operate together (http://www.dominiodelplata.com.ar/). Balbo is the winemaker and Marchevsky is the vineyard manager. (BTW, Marchevsky also once worked for Catena.)

So both wines are the result of a collaboration between married people. That being said, presumably Balbo has her heart in (and total control over) the wine that carries her name. The BenMarco is more identified with Marchevsky, and I imagine that here Balbo is trying to produce wine more in the style that Marchevsky is looking for. Regarding the name, at one point the winery’s website says, “BenMarco is Pedroâ€™s surname which means son of Marco in Hebrew,” and elsewhere says, “Pedro produces his wines as homage to his father, Marcos who taught him how to plant, tend, and love the vineyards.”

QOTD: I’ve never been there, but I have a fantasy about the town of Bra in Piemonte, Italy, close to Barolo country, and world headquarters for the Slow Food organization (http://www.slowfood.com/).
August 21, 2007

Carlitos
QOTD. Tough one. Too many great cities to pick just one. Paris, SanFran, Barcelona, NYC, Sao Paulo (great food!), Seville…
August 21, 2007

Trevors
Thanks for the great shows. I signed up a couple of weeks ago (lurking since the Slate article) and have been pretty much hooked! Loved the Cote Rotie episode. Am going to be in Lyon in mid September and thought I might do some tasting in between work, maybe even drive down to Cote Rotie… Shouldn’t be too hard to find some good places but I’d love to hear from anyone with suggestions.
August 21, 2007

Brian
Gary – Martin Luther?! Did you have Mrs. Kohut by any chance? Wow, dude, we grew up about a mile away from yer elementary school. My brother had a condo in Westgate where he taught me all about wine – Little did I know you would grow up to be “Thunder Wine Cat J E T S” Guy. Funny how paths don’t cross, but sure as hell coulda. Great Show – as usual… Turning my friends on to WLTV out here in CA, so far they’re just lurkers (so Far!!) Love the Oak Monster (your impression, not in my wine) Cracks me up every time! QOTD – Tie between New York City and San Diego – obviously two different vibes, but I love ‘em both!
August 21, 2007

DavidB
Love the Melbac! Excellent QPR

QOTD: It’s a toss up as San Francisco, New York and Paris are amazing cities, each with their own feel. Throw in Boston and Vancuver BC as close runner ups.
August 21, 2007

Joe Po
Gary,

Thanks for the malbec show. It is delicious.
QOTD: San Fran – New World; Rome – Old World; NYC – All World!
August 21, 2007

Bill Luby
QOTD: I’m going to go with a small city: Verona, Italy.
August 21, 2007

Lb in KS
Mem’ries,
Light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored mem’ries
Of the way we were

Ah…..yes. Everyone should go back to episode #59. The Ep that I first found Gary V…. checking out the Ben Marco. Kinda puts a tear in my eye watching how our little Gary has grown.

Now…don’t expect me to be so warm and fuzzy come December 30th, G. After all… “You play….to win….the Game”
August 21, 2007

Raphael S
QOTD: Florence, Italy. For the amazing art and architecture.

Gary,

I noticed that the best way to see the color of the wines you taste, particularly the reds, is when you swirl them in the glass. If you get the wine high onto the sides of the glass and the background is lighter (won’t work against a dark background), you can really see the color differences. Holding the glass close to the camera doesn’t really seem to help. FYI