From the bottle:

Bodega Elena de Mendoza is named after our family matriarch, Elena Napoli, whose parents emigrated from Italy to the heart of Argentina’s wine country in the nineteenth century.  Our bold, beautiful wines take full advantage of the altitude, eternally sunny skies, and mountain water unique to our home at the foot of the Andes.  This Malbec is full of the dark, intense, flavors and pairs perfectly with grilled steak.

My thoughts:

This poured heavily into the glass in a deep, dark red color and immediately greeted me with full fruity scents with an aroma that often accompanies wines with a high alcohol content.  This one is average at 13.5%.  I was expecting a very heavy tasting wine, but was pleasantly surprised by the relatively light, smooth drinkability that I love about a good Malbec.  This might not make sense but it was sweet at first and finished a bit dryer.

Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the exceptional company, but this particular Malbec is like a hug from the inside.  Smooth, subtle and gently warming.  A dear friend of mine and I gather most Wednesday evenings lately and crack open a bottle of wine and talk about life.  It doesn’t hurt that she also enjoys good wine and knows her stuff.  She described it as sweet, drinkable and only slightly dry.  I’d say that’s a pretty accurate description.

If you’re into the red meat thing, I’m sure this would pair well with a good steak.  I thought it worked out well with the asian sesame chicken and roasted asparagus that I made.

On a scale of “this tastes like piss” to “oops, I just drank the whole bottle” I would give this a “I’m glad I held onto this bottle and shared it with someone that would appreciate it.  It holds up well with solid conversation.” Would I buy it again?  I actually received this bottle as a gift, but plan on adding it to my would pick up again list.

Final Grade: A-  But with the right company, I’d give this a solid A.