2012 Gnarly Head Malbec

A little site news first... Be sure to check out my latest post on PalatePress.com, in which I discuss awkward wine moments I've experienced. I've told a few of these stories here before, but I go into more depth in this new article. Also, I was recently interviewed by Jameson Fink for Grape Collective. There are some neat stories coming up in the next month, but I don't want to spoil anything quite this early.

On to the wine!

Even though the weather is getting warmer, it's still nice enough to enjoy some great reds before the searing Memphis heat turns our attention toward clean, crisp whites and fruity rosés. While Gnarly Head is most known for their Old Vine Zin, they've launched an Argentine Malbec as well. I would recommend both for your steak and burger nights, perhaps like the old 3Bs guys' nights that Paul and I enjoyed for years while he was still living in Memphis (3Bs = beef, booze, bad movies).

2012 Gnarly Head Malbec
Mendoza, Argentina
100% Malbec
$12, 13.5% abv.

Mild and fruity with great black plum aromas and flavors. Gentle tannins and soft acidity contribute to the round mouthfeel, and the good dark fruit shows well at a range of temperatures. Good bargain and it should be easy to find anywhere in the country.

Look at that! A sighting of a Nomacorc! It's pretty cool knowing that I've seen the actual machine that produced and cut that cork, as well as all of the equipment used in the testing and research. While I'll have some more details on the cork factory in the future, I'd highly recommend checking out this video of the factory shot by my friends at Wine Folly. It will give you the brief tour of how the synthetic corks are extruded and sliced.

Note: This wine was provided as a sample for review.