2005 Sol Claro, Andalhue

Mendoza, Argentina

Color: Red
Name: Sol Claro
Vineyard: Andalhue
Type: Malbec
Origin: Mendoza, Argentina
Year: 2005
Price: $14.00
Rating: 4.9
Pocho's Pick
Review: Elegant in the mid-palate, this sports flavorful fruit up front, and some grip on the finish. It expands nicely in the glass. It has some sunny characteristics, and seems friendly and cheerful, while still showing off some structure. There is a pleasing, bright finish, which delivers a lot of that open, flavorful fruit to the palate. It will be early maturing. In my opinion, and to my own personal tastes, this wine is, arguably, one of the top 10 most delicious wines at Harney's. Originally, the Malbec grape was French, from the Bordeaux region; it had limited success in the Old World. It was used for blending, adding color and tannin (for structure and backbone) to the wine. Argentina, the fourth largest wine producer in the world, has taken the Malbec grape, especially in this particular wine, and turned it into a lush and complex, medium- to full-bodied wine of intense ruby color, exhibiting rich and spicy dark fruit, with a long, smooth, soft finish. Years ago, when I first tasted a Malbec wine, it resonated deeply in me, but I couldn't name or place the dominant, distinctive flavor. Only recently have I been able to identify it: the aroma and flavor is unmistakably elderberry. My grandmother, in a small coal-mining town in Pennsylvania, had elderberry bushes at the bottom of her yard near the alleyway. Drinking Malbec now, brings me back 60 years, and adds a personal, warm, satisfying dimension to an already rewarding experience. A word about ORGANIC wines: The grapes are grown without fungicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers, with no additives or preservatives, which brings me to the topic of SULFITES: sulfites occur naturally during fermentation. Thus, all wines contain sulfites, even organic wines. Sulfites, as a preservative, prevent wine from turning into vinegar, and serve as an antioxidant, protecting a wine from the harmful influence of oxygen. Dry, red wines contain the least amount of sulfites, followed by dry white, and sweet wines contain the most sulfites. The bad effects some people experience after drinking a red wine is probably due to the antihistamine properties of the red wine and not to the sulfites. Many organic wine producers now specify on the label: NO ADDED SULFITES.
Comments: The nose is filled with red fruits like plum jam and elderberry. This wine is complex with other aromas of vanilla, coffee and spices like black pepper.

The Nillni's Great Wine Tasting Adventure

2005 Sol Claro, Andalhue