2017 Malbec Catena Vineyards
A “93” rating? Yes, a well-known taster, James Suckllng, provides rating & tasting notes for many wines. The respected group assigned this Malbec a very high number, which reflects upper tier elite wines. To be clear, Catena Malbec, grapes grown at high altitude, is my “go-to Malbec”; it’s good for watching T.V., sitting on the deck, or conversing with friends. It maintains consistent good red wine, and it deserves a high ranking. However, to make it a $200, $400 or $1,000 bottle of elite wine calls for magic. Well, the great playwright, William Shakespeare, skillfully created magic in the Globe Theater. In A Midsummers-Night’s Dream, he has a mischievous fairy, Puck, change a dullard into a donkey. And then, a beautiful princess falls in love with him. Later, Puck changes everything back to normal… The dullard returns to himself, while the princess does whatever royalty is supposed to do. To wit: this Catena Malbec is a fine, enjoyable red wine. It displays the right characteristics. The vineyard’s high mountain growing along with the fermentation process deserve good recommendation. Again, we make the point that a single numbering rating system can get confusing. I.e. What princess would ever want to marry a donkey, or what donkey would even know how to relate to a princess? Let’s apply T-L-C Dashboard dimensions of: Taste= 3 (a fine Malbec) Looks= 2 (The producer uses composition corks) Cos t= 1 (buy the bottle for less than $20.) With our ratings, the read grasps a far greater range of information. Good red wine that will be enjoyable and drinkable. Probably not a wine for maturing in a wine cellar as an elite or library level wine. It’s one of those to grab off the shelf, take home to chill, and “drink it now”.
