Kaiken Crosses Borders for Malbec World Day with Argentine Burgers

2021 Kaiken Malbec

April 17 is the day in 1853 that Argentina committed to finding the best vines to grow in their unique terror. The wine best known as coming from Argentina these days? Malbec! Which is why Wines of Argentina (WofA) chose April 17 as Malbec World Day in 2011 to raise awareness of the grape and promote it globally. And we are celebrating with two Malbec from Kaiken paired with Argentine style burgers!

2021 Kaiken Malbec with Argentine style burgers

Malbec originated in Cahors, France where it is also known as “Côt,” but those vines were devastated in the late nineteenth century by the phylloxera plague which destroyed many European vineyards. While clearly that industry resurrected, some grapes like Malbec and Carmenere became lost to more popular grapes that were often easier to grow and enjoy. Malbec was one of them.
With the old world wine industry scrambling to recover from phylloxera, new world locations like Argentina developed.
A region where wine grape growing began way back in the 1500s, today Argentina is one of the top five producing wine countries in the world — thanks to Malbec where almost 25% of vineyards are planted to that grape. Argentina’s Malbec production increased almost 200% in the previous 20 years with 116k acres planted to the grape translating to 45% of the red wine made in Argentina being Malbec.
Because Argentina’s elevation, soils and climate resist disease, and because there’s plenty of water flowing down from the Andes, most of Argentina’s Malbec is grown sustainably with much of it certified organic, some biodynamic (like Domaine Bousquet), and a few of the companies are also certified B Corp (like Kaiken) or Fair Trade (like Argento).

Kaiken and Argentine Burgers

Happy Malbec World Day! Our two Malbec for today come from regeneratively farmed Kaiken, founded by Chilean winemaker Aurelio Montes. The name Kaiken comes from the name of  a wild goose “Caiquén” which lives in Patagonia and crosses the Andes mountains to migrates between Chile and Argentina.
Not a wild goose chase, but a symbol of the winery’s cross-border approach to making wine by Chilean Aurelio Montes: in 2001, he decided that Mendoza was the perfect setting to bring Kaiken to life in the 1920 winery built by Italo Calise to produce olive oil, spirits, tartaric acid, and wine.

In 2024, the Sommelier Wine Awards (SWA) competition named Kaiken New World Producer of the Year in recognition Kaiken’s quality, balance, expression of terroir and price-to-quality ratio across multiple entries in the competition. “This distinction holds immense significance, as our wines were assessed and recognized by those serving them in the on-trade,” said General Manager and Chief Winemaker Gustavo Hörmann in a press release. “Being named New World Producer 2024 is undoubtedly a great honor and a recognition that distinguishes us globally”. Kaiken earned three medals in the “Malbec from the New World” category in 2024 including a Gold for MAI 2021. Read our thoughts about MAI below.

2021 Kaiken Malbec “Ultra” and MAI”  with Argentine Burgers as interpreted by Sue Hill

Wines

  • 2021 Kaiken Ultra Malbec, Uco Valley, Argentina
  • 2021 Kaiken MAI, Old Vine Malbec, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina

Argentine Burgers as interpreted by Sue Hill

Menu

  • Argentinean style burgers made with Kobe beef, Sue’s pickled onions, arugula, heirloom tomatoes, fried chorizo, and plenty of Sue’s fresh chimichurri on ciabbatta rolls
  • Yukon gold oven fries

2021 Kaiken Ultra Malbec, Uco Valley, Argentina

2021 Kaiken Ultra Malbec, Uco Valley, Argentina

ABV: 14.5%
SRP: $25
Grapes: Malbec

Kaiken Ultra Malbec is made from handpicked grapes grown in high-altitude vineyards at the foot of the Andes:

  • Los Chacayes, Uco Valley, at 1250 meters (4101 feet) above sea level.
  • Altamira, Uco Valley, at 1200 meters (3934 feet) above sea level.
  • Gualtallary, Uco Valley, at 1400 meters (4590 feet) above sea level.

Appearance:  Dark, dense, ruby, almost plum, very leggy, violet rim,

Aroma: Blue fruit, plum, mulberry, sage, menthol, clove, fresh ginger root,

Palate: Mulberry, dry, grippy tannins, chalky, stem,Earthy, seed, menthol, clean fresh finish, nice acidity,

Pairing: “Yummo!” said Sue. The burgers have such a complexity of flavor with, quality beef, the spicy arugula the herbal chimichuri, crispy chorizo, and the sharp provolone, everything comes together beautifully with the rich fruity wine, what a great combination, the meal really brings out the blue fruit and tames the tannins perfectly.

2021 Kaiken MAI, Old Vine Malbec, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina

2021 Kaiken MAI, Old Vine Malbec, Luján de Cuyo, Argentina

ABV: 14.5%
SRP: $90
Grapes: Old Vine Malbec

“Mai” means “first” in Pehuenche, a local Indigenous language. The vineyard is located not far from Mendoza in Vistalba, Luján de Cuyo, at 4101 feet above sea level where the vines were planted in 1910, making them very old indeed!

With a wine at this price point, you might not think about having a burger. But this is not your typical burger or even a “gourmet” burger. This burger is quite special, with the wine and the burger both quite complex they bring out lovely characteristics in both.

Appearance:  Dark, dense, rich, beautiful color, ruby, violet rim

Aroma: Violet, iris, mulberry, blueberry, sandalwood, enticing and intriguing.

Palate: Smooth, juicy fruit, grippy tannins, bright acidity, blueberry, fresh plum skin. It’s clearly Malbec, but sassy, not brooding, elevated and elegant on the palate. There’s a lot to contemplate.

Pairing: The salt in the potatoes brings out a nice sweetness in the wine. I kept adding chimichuri to my burger because it was so wonderful with the wine. The complexity of the burger further enhanced the wine beautifully, the lovely pickled onion also enhanced the experience. You would think that the arugula, chimichuiri, and the pickled onion would overtake the wine, but it didn’t– everything came together and worked so well with the wine further enhancing the experience. The umami of the heirloom tomato was especially lovely with the wine.

Read more about Malbec:

 

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