The Second Glass

Just when I was beginning to get home-sick for Europe and life on vacation I received a big old welcome back in the form of another wine blog Wednesday round-up. This week’s assignment: compare and contrast one producer’s everyday bottling and their reserve of the same blend. It’s like hitting the Ck Calvin Klein shop before you drool over the Haute Couture line.

In honor of our next Latin America themed issue I chose Argentinean producer Altos Los Hormigas, pitting two of their Malbecs against one another in a no-holds-barred fight to the finish. In this corner, priced at $9.99 retail, the welterweight upstart 2006 Malbec, this unfiltered, un-stablized bad-boy sees nine months in oak barrels and three in the bottle before it hits the shelves. In the other corner, the Parker-92-point rated, returning heavyweight champion, coming in at $24.99 retail, the 2005 Reserve Malbec. Everything about this wine is bigger: it is fermented for twice as long as the everyday selection; its malolactic fermentation takes place over the course of 18 months in small French barrels, and ages another six months in the bottle before it is ready to greet its adoring public. But is bigger necessarily better? Who will win in this David versus Goliath epic in the making? It took an evening of blind-tasting at Shays Pub and Wine Bar, with a few of our vino-loving regulars to find out.

As the evening, started out, the ’06 came out swinging, declared “damn good,” by one regular, handily trouncing the reserve in the first few rounds. “I need to remove my tongue from the roof of my mouth now,” declared one Zinfandel drinking attorney upon tasting the reserve. The more fruit forward ’06, with its round, ripe cherry, chocolate notes, definitely proved more accessible to the bar crowd, as compared to the austere ’05.

Yet as the evening wore on, the reserve had a chance to open up and this concentrated, scarlet stunner began to show its mettle easily sweeping the final three rounds. By that point the ’06 had lost some of its nerve, descending into a “window-cleaner” bouquet – its high alcohol was beginning to show, and not in a flattering light. All that was left of the finish was cotton mouth and a set of pearly whites that had gone whino grey. In comparison, the thickly spiced ’05 was supported by a slathering of plum, and licorice on the front, which unfolded into a nice smoky heft on the mid-palette, and a lingering finish chock-full of acidity; An elegant offering, that gave one pause to think before begging for another sip. As my friend PJ put it: “The reserve is the Goldilocks, and the everyday is the three bears.” In the cold harsh light of day, I’m not quite sure what that means but it sounded great at the time.

The verdict: For everyday drinking the ’06 can’t be beat in terms of bang for the buck. It’s a wine meant to be drunk quickly, preferably within a few hours of opening which is not problem on Saturday night. The ’05, while definitively superior, is also more of a special-occasion pour: bust it out whenever you are feeling carnivorous and you will not be sorry. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a date with several skewers of beef at the Churrascaria down the street.