More Northwest Wineries Bottling Malbec as a Stand Alone Varietal

I was sifting through my archives and discovered that it’s been over two years since I’ve written anything about Malbec. The last time I featured the wine I noted that it was fairly standard stuff in countries such as Chile and Argentina, but it remained somewhat obscure here the Pacific Northwest.

Things certainly have changed in the past couple of years. Although many Northwest winemakers have used and continue to use Malbec for blending purposes, more and more wineries are bottling it as a stand-alone varietal; Reininger Winery, Pleasant Hill and Fidelitas are just a few that come to mind.

Local winery Mount Baker Vineyards also produces a Malbec, and their 2004 vintage was recently released. This delicious red wine rivals their award winning 2002 vintage, displaying a lovely deep garnet color and lots of blackberry, blueberry and pomegranate flavors. It’s priced around $20 a bottle and is available for purchase in local stores and also at the winery tasting room.

If you prefer your Malbec from South America, give the Viu Manent Secreto 2005 Malbec a try. Dark and inky with a pleasant nose of fresh berries, the wine has plenty of jammy, ripe blackberry and plum flavors.

This tasty, fruit-forward Chilean wine is usually priced in the $9 to $11 a bottle range and can be found in both wine shops and the wine section of your grocer. I picked up my bottle at The Vines, located at 1319 Cornwall Avenue in downtown Bellingham.