2 organic Malbec from Argentina

Why is “Malbec World Day” celebrated on April 17? Because on this day in 1853, President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento of Argentina  tasked French soil expert Michel Aimé Pouge with transforming the Argentine wine industry with new grape varietals, including Malbec. “Malbec World Day” started as “Día Mundial del Malbec” or “Malbec throughout the world”. Malbec flourished in Argentina while disease and a freeze in the 50s caused Malbec in France to flounder, nearly wiping out the majority of Malbec vineyards. Meanwhile, Argentina in the 1990s sought to lead the Mundo in Malbec, and planted 10,000 acres making the grape the country’s leader in exports. 

organic Malbec with barbacoa tacos

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We paired these wines on with a cheese plate, with beef barbacoa tacos, and with a bacon wrapped pork loin with chimichurri, a beet salad, and roasted Brussel sprouts. The wines love these lively flavors. 

2020 Tussock Jumper Malbec, Mendoza

2020 Tussock Jumper Malbec, Mendoza

• ABV 13.5%
• SRP around $10 
• Varietals: Organic Malbec
• Importer/Distributor – Tri-Vin Imports

Learn more about Tussock Jumper here.

Color: Plum with a ruby rim, very pretty

Aroma: Ripe bramble berry and blueberry, very fruity, oak, vanilla, berry pie, roasted fruit. 

Palate: With such a fruity nose you would expect some sweetness, but this is a bone dry wine. Bramble berry and blue fruit, tart fruit, mellow tannins, coffee, toasted walnut, slightly grassy on the finish. This is an easy to enjoy wine. 

Pairing: So fantastic with the barbacoa. I thought I wanted it with a burger, but not unless it is a burger with these flavors. Sue had the wine with a bite of chicken taco and was happy, but it was the bite of cilantro with the wine that made the meal shine. Back to the barbacoa which was the perfect companion to the wine makes it shine. Have barbacoa in a taco, a bowl, or as a meal. This is the very best with the wine. 

2020 Domaine Bousquet “Virgen” Malbec

2020 Domaine Bousquet “Virgen” Malbec, Tupungato Uco Valley Mendoza Argentina

• ABV 14.5%
• SRP $13 
• Varietals:  Organic Malbec, No added sulfites
• Importer/Distributor: WISD LLC, Miami, Fl,  

“We only tackled this project once we were confident that we could manage the challenges of making top-notch organic, no-sulfites-added wines. We also wanted to make sure that these wines remained true to our house style: elegant, with bright, clean, fruit flavors,” says Domaine Bousquet co-owner Anne Bousquet in a press release.

As Argentina’s largest exporter of organic fruit wines with upward of 100,000 cases annually sold in the U.S. alone, Domaine Bousquet’s Virgen collection of wines takes organics to the next level by adding no sulfites which qualifies them for organic certification by the USDA. While sulfites are naturally present in all wines,  most winemakers add some to prevent bacterial spoilage. SO2 helps or reduce funky “off” flavors and aromas.

Domaine Bousquet has been organic since 1997, when Jean Bousquet planted his first vines in Alto Gualtallary, a subregion of Tupungato in Mendoza. Learn more about owner Anne Bousquet here and Domaine Bousquet’s commitment ot organic and biodynamic viticulture. 

Color: Ruby, cloudy, dense, very pretty, fushia rim

Aroma: Dirty socks, mineral soil, iron, blue fruit, plum.

Palate: Bold blueberry fruit, dry, bramble fruit, raspberry, tons of grippy tannins on the finish; after the tannins dissipate, nice fresh raspberry lingers on the finish. This is an impressive wine that overdelivers at this price point.

Pairing: Perfect with cured meats. Barbacoa was insanely fantastic with this wine. The wine loves the spices and the char from the broiling. For dessert, pair this wine with a log of cranberry cinnamon coated goat cheese on top of a rainforest cranberry cracker; this was all Sue wanted for the rest of the evening. So nice with manchego cheese. Great wine to pair with a nice cheese plate, manchego, dry cured olives, cured meats, and rosemary Marcona almonds. The rich bacon wrapped pork loin with the lively chimichurri paired well with the complex flavors bouncing off the blue fruit.

Are you fan of Malbec? With what wine will you be celebrating Malbec Day?  For more Malbec comparisons and pairings, check out these recent articles:

• Newly Launched Organic Kosher Malbec “Alavida” Says Cheers “To Life!” (April 2022)
• Anne Bousquet’s Organic Domaine Bousquet Malbec (March 2022)  
• Malbec from Margaret River’s Voodoo Moon Makes You Howl for Blue Cheese (January 2022) 
• Susie Selby’s Sonoma Malbec for Malbec Day (April 2021)
• Music in the Malbec, Violinists in the Vineyard (Sept. 2020 )
• An Introduction to Malbec: Wines from around the world, what to pair, when to share #MalbecDay (April 2020)
• Forlorn in France, Flourishing in the New World? Malbec! (Feb 2020)