In any glass, malbec offers full-bodied flavor

Occasion: I recently attended the biannual Vinexpo trade fair in Hong Kong, and while Italy was the featured country, there were plenty of interesting wines from South America. I was reminded of how good the wines of Graffigna are with steak, as they served grilled Argentinean beef with a flight of these malbecs. They were served in the special malbec glasses designed for Graffigna by Riedel of Austria, so it was superbly presented. I was fairly hungry before the tasting, but the unmistakable combination of grilled steak with this juicy and full-bodied malbec from the best growing area in Argentina for this variety, was just perfection. Fortunately, they are widely available in retail here and just great for the summer garden barbecue party.

Wine: Graffigna Centenario Malbec Reserve

Grape: Malbec

Region: Mendoza, northern Argentina

Vintage: 2013

In the glass: Graffigna Malbec wine is a deeply colored purplish-red color with an opaque core going out into a fine violet rim definition with high viscosity.

On the nose: The wine in this special malbec glass is all concentrated black fruit extract with Morello cherries, graphite, huckleberry sauce, dark chocolate, earth-driven minerals and touches of mature wood and licorice twizzlers. In a regular glass, I think the fruit would “pop” more while leaving out some of the nuances, but here it appears balanced and suave.

On the palate: There is a palpable sense of black fruit extraction with massive concentration of, in particular, cherry compote, crushed marionberries, licorice root extract, fairly high-tone acidity that plays with the forward but ripe tannins and then hints of wood. It has a powerful finish that quite frankly gives the palate a bit of a workout. The wine has a big, masculine style that drinks great after a couple of hours opened.

Price: $8.99

Availability: Vons, Smith’s, Lee’s Discount Liquor and others

Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears on Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.