2009 Alamos Malbec from Argentina

Hello all!! We had this wine last night with a spice rubbed flank steak and broccoli rabe. This is widely available for $10 or less. I have seen it at Ashes. I actually tasted this wine a year and a half ago at a tasting hosted by McScrooge's. The tasting featured wines from Alamos and I have to say I was pretty impressed, especially when the price was considered. This wine was a deep garnet to purple. It started with aromas of blackberry and smoke. The taste was true to the nose, with the faint smokiness lingering far back on the mid palate. I also picked up a faint taste of licorice. As it opened the blackberry developed into dark cherry and the licorice became more apparent. It began to resemble an Italian Salice Salentino. We really liked this wine, and at $9-$10 a bottle, this could be a really great everyday wine.

There are other excellent (especially for the price) wines from this label. Alamos is owned by Catena. When we went to the wine tasting, Alamos was represented as a rather small operation owned by a collection of investors from the United States and working with local winemakers. I don't know whether ownership of the label has changed, but the wines were and are both very affordable and very good. We particularly like the torrantes ($8-$9 at Ashes).

2008 La Posta Cocina Blend

This is another wine consumed between Christmas and New Year's. I believe we had this wine with empanadas stuffed with mildly spicy beef. The blend is 60% Malbec, 20% Bonarcha, and 20% Syrah from Mendoza Argentina. I believe this was a substitute offered by the staff at Total Wines when the Malbec I requested was unavailable. I can't be sure of the price, but I believe it was about $10. The color was a dark inky purple-garnet. On the nose there was blackberry and a little smoke. The flavor profile was blackberry and dark cherry with licorice on the finish. It was silky with soft tannins that actually became firmer as it opened. This is a good example of the hidden gems that are available at an affordable price if you just hunt around and take advantage of the sales staff's knowledge.