The Wine Fairy

Malbec’s story is possibly the most poetic of all the grapes. From royal darling in the court of Eleanor of Aquitane, to trans-Atlantic pilgrim, to purple-hued hero of by-the-glass lists everywhere, this is a variety that has survived and thrived across centuries.

France lost most of its Malbec plantings, first to phylloxera and then to freeze. Argentina now grows around three-quarters of the world’s crop. Malbec, it seems, is happiest in the Andes, where the water flows down from the mountains and the long, sunny days chase away blight. But, like a lost love re-kindled, some French producers are re-discovering Malbec and restoring it to its historic place in the Bordeaux-style blend.

The famous Château Cheval Blanc is one such producer. In 1999, they joined up with Terrazas de los Andes to create Cheval des Andes. With the title “Grand Cru of the Andes,” the brand is owned by luxury giant LVMH. The Malbec-driven blend is inspired by the Bordeaux of the distant past, colored by the freshness of their high-altitude Andean sites.

Tuesday morning, we gathered at Blind Bishop for an industry tasting. The event was produced by Dallas-based Misa Imports and hosted by Blind Bishop owner Dilek Caner MW. On the table were four vintages of this exciting wine. (Plus a starter–the 2022 Petit Cheval Bordeaux Blanc!) During the tasting, we listened to a fascinating presentation from the CEO of LVMH Vins d’Exception, Mathieu Jullien, who had traveled from Paris to present Cheval des Andes in Dallas.

Cheval des Andes produces just one wine. The guiding house recipe is 50 percent Malbec and 50 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. (Some vintages tweak the proportions and add a little Petit Verdot.) The fruit comes from two Mendoza vineyard sites: Las Compuertas in Luján de Cuyo (the source of the oldest vines, planted in 1929) and Paraje Altamira in Uco Valley.

Following a “one plot, one vat” winemaking method, fruit from the various plots is sorted separately into small (30-80 hectoliter) tanks. In the three most recent vintages, refrigerated trucks transported the fruit to the winery. Vinification and blending aims to be as low-intervention as possible to provide the purest terroir expression. The oak regimen varies slightly by year, but occurs in a mix of 225-liter, 400-liter, and 2500-liter barrels, 50% of them new.

These wines are beautiful–but can high-end Malbec find a place in cellars and wine lists alongside the great wines of Europe? That was the question of the day. Long regarded as a wellspring of low-cost, early-drinking bottles, positioning Mendoza as a source of $100+ wines is difficult for anyone who attempts it, up to and including LVMH and Cheval Blanc.

But according to Jullien, both European and Argentine luxury buyers are keenly interested in the possibilities of fine wine from South America. The most enthusiast receptions (and highest critics’ scores) have generally come from among those who appreciate the structure and subtlety of the best red wines of Bordeaux.

Tasting these wines, it’s easy to understand why. These are not the plummy, high-alcohol Malbecs that you quaff, lightly chilled, at the churrascaria. They are firmer in their tannins and more elegant in their aromas, rewarding slow, careful attention. Malbec’s exuberant blue fruit is a feature only in the ripest of the wines on the table. Instead, they are united by a lovely floral perfume, a core of balanced red and black berries, and complex toasty and vegetal notes.

One of the most interesting things about this more restrained style is how well it expresses its vintage. Mendoza’s irrigated desert is often considered one of the most consistent wine climates in the world–and it is consistent, but not entirely. Mendoza vintages, Jullien told us, tend to mirror Bordeaux vintages–albeit with a lesser degree of variability. So, a cool, wet vintage in Bordeaux will also tend to be a cool, wet vintage for their vineyards in Argentina.

For instance, 2021, regarded as a challenging year in Bordeaux, created a fragrant and layered Cheval des Andes. Violets, iris, and rosewater lead a palate of perfectly ripe red cherry, seasoned with toasted chicory and a long finish of crushed fresh mint.

The warmer 2020 vintage also stood out–but with rich, ripe fruits. The plush mouthfeel is closer to the archetypal Mendoza Malbec, the weight of its fresh cherries and blackberries supporting creamy hints of coffee, chocolate, and spice. The 2022 is being heralded as exceptional, too–and in counterpart to much of Bordeaux, ready to drink upon release.

There’s something romantic about marrying centuries of Bordeaux tradition with the Argentine wine industry’s spirit of innovation. But it was not always an easy match. In the presentation, Jullien also spoke about the many challenges of launching a luxe Bordeaux-style blend in South America.

An early hurdle, encountered at the project’s inception, was bringing Cheval Blanc’s low-yielding, ultra-premium philosophy to the experienced vineyard managers in Mendoza.

Argentine growers, being blessed with nearly-infinite amounts of sunlight and water, have historically prized the abundance and vigor of their vineyards. A “less is better” growing strategy is an outlier in agriculture–essentially, a quirk of the wine world. Now, yields are controlled to produce concentrated, top-quality wines that are worthy of being spoken of in the same breath as Cheval Blanc’s flagship wine of Saint-Émilion.

Speaking of brands, the current challenge is brand awareness. The fine-wine space is crowded, and even top-shelf projects can plod along for years, unnoticed. The room was full of sommeliers, wine buyers, and sales reps–but still, some folks admitted to being previously unaware that Cheval Blanc had a presence in Argentina. (Or even that Cheval Blanc makes a white wine. Well, now I know!)

The next problem to solve is age-worthiness. Red Bordeaux can easily age for 25-30 years, gaining character and complexity over decades. Argentine blends, for reasons not yet totally understood, generally do not.

But Cheval de Andes is up for the challenge, analyzing previous releases of their Malbec-Cab blend and trying to make every vintage better than the last. The ultimate goal: Giving a position of pride to Argentina’s own grape, while also creating a backlist of outstanding bottles that can be collected and enjoyed for years to come.

Malbec has come a long way, and its story is still being written. Could a starring role in high-end, cellar-worthy blends be the next chapter in Malbec’s epic history? I’ll drink to that. 🍷😁

Wines tasted:

Petit Cheval Bordeaux Blanc (2022) – France

Cheval des Andes (2019) – Mendoza, Argentina

Cheval des Andes (2020) – Mendoza, Argentina

Cheval des Andes (2021) – Mendoza, Argentina

Cheval des Andes (2022) – Mendoza, Argentina

Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. I attended the Cheval des Andes tasting as a guest of Blind Bishop. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.