Malbec: The Immigrant Grape That Conquered Argentina

– a tale of two continents and one grape

Mar 12, 2024

You may have noticed that I find clones in the grape world very interesting. I don’t believe I have formally defined the term clone. It is the result of a naturally occurring random genetic mutation. Such mutation may change any grape characteristic, even the grape skin color. This is the case with the Pinot Gris grape, which has a greyish-pink skin despite being a clone of the black Pinot Noir grape.

Wild! Can’t help but be reminded of the Clone Wars of the Star Wars series.

I talked about Malbec in France in the past posts about white Bordeaux and red Bordeaux, but I never discussed its newfound land – Argentina! You may think that this was a recent development, as you likely got introduced to Malbec in the 2000s when it really had its modern mainstream revival.

WRONG!

Rude

1853 is an important year for Argentina’s Malbec. Michel Aimé Pouget, a French agricultural engineer, moved to Mendoza Argentina and brought Malbec cuttings with him. These vines became Argentina’s first Malbec plantings. At the time, Malbec was all the rage in France, especially in Bordeaux and Cahors in Southwest France. Cahors is the only French sub-region that still has Malbec as its dominant variety.

Even before the 1800s, Malbec was considered ‘on trend’ in France. Its wine was called the ‘vin noir de Cahors’ - ‘black wine of Cahors.’ It was documented to be the medieval wine for the clergy and royalty, INCLUDING some repeat Shade of Grape historical characters!

Wait for it…

Eleonore of Aquitaine and her second king husband, Henry II of England, who reputedly had Malbec served at their wedding in 1152! About 75 years later their son, who eventually became King Henry III of England, forbade the Bordeaux merchants from restricting and taxing the Cahors Malbec at the Bordeaux port for access to the export market. It had been common practice to delay non-Bordeaux wine from accessing the port until that given season’s Bordeaux wines where already sold. This gave Bordeaux merchants an economic advantage and likely delayed Henry III’s delivery of black wine!

Gasp!

Pope John XXII, born in Cahors in the 14^th century, used wines from Cahors as sacramental wines at Avignon where the popes were at the time… The popes all had their faves! (for more on Popes check out the flying saucer Pope post & Pope Horse Guardsmen post)

Winos will be winos … Kings, Queens, and Popes – got it!

This popularity all came to a halt due to the phylloxera infestation (a destructive louse/aphid “imported” from the Americas that devastated European grape vines in the late 1880s and early 1900s). The result: Cahors lost about 90% of its vines. Eventually, the solution (still used today) was to graft the Euro-vines to American root stock (think bottom of the vine trunk and roots). The reason this worked is that the pest attacks the roots of the vine but the American root stocks are immune to it as phylloxera is indigenous to America. Malbec never took to the grafting like other European vines did. The root stock material sent to France at the time did not ‘match’ well with the characteristics of Malbec, resulting in grape growing difficulties.

So, Bordeaux port restrictions and taxes as well as phylloxera worked against Malbec continuing to thrive in France. The final nail on the proverbial coffin however was the devastating frost of 1956. Bordeaux chose to replace Malbec with Merlot, as Merlot grew better. Cahors did not fare any better, with Malbec plantings currently at 10% of what they once were.

Regardless, many believe Malbec grows better in Argentina. The Argentine high elevation and intense hot sun allows full ripening, and sunburn is not a problem due to the dense and full leaf cover characteristic of the Malbec vine. In France it can struggle to ripen fully due to the sometimes cool and rainy conditions.

The story doesn’t end here, however. Enter the year 1995 and the Catena institute, the research arm of Bodega Catena Zapata winery with Drs. Nicolas and Laura Catena (father and daughter medical doctor duo). Catena planted 135 selections of Malbec in a designated research vineyard. These selections came from the historic Catena Angelica Vineyard planted in 1930. Next to them, they also planted a French Malbec clone.

Over the next two decades, a series of discoveries and further experimentations in other vineyards resulted in two conclusions being drawn. Firstly, the characteristics of the wines made from the existing Catena vines planted in 1930 and the adjacently planted French clone were considerably different. Prior to this experiment, these differences were attributed to the soil and the climate variations between Argentina and France.

Furthermore, it was concluded that the French Malbec vines introduced to Argentina in 1853 clones are also very different from the above French clone. To be clear, they are all descendants of the same Malbec ‘mother’ plant, but natural mutations occurred before 1853. The “1853 clones" did not prosper in France as much as other Malbec clones, and so were not chosen to propagate new planting material. The 1853 clones likely would have become extinct worldwide if it had not been for their immigration to the Americas!

Dr. Laura Catena of Catena vineyards says it best:

"Malbec is an immigrant grape that has been lost in the old world despite being the grape of highest renown in Medieval Europe. If you think of the world's other main grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Syrah, they are still very important in the old world. Malbec was practically abandoned. It is a great story from a historical standpoint.”

But can WE tell the difference? How is this reflected in the glass?

The biggest difference is that the Argentine Malbecs have noticeably smaller berries and bunches and softer tannins than the Cahors Malbecs.

In Cahors, the wines are generally a very dark inky color, with robust tannins, aromas of violet, and flavors of red and black plum. The Argentine Malbec wine generally have intense juicy fruit notes with violet aromas and black plum and blackberry flavors with firm ripe tannins.

Today’s feature wine comes from a vineyard originally planted in 1906 at 850 m elevation in Lujan de Cuyo, southwest of the city of Mendoza, where the Mendoza River valley emerges from the Andes Foothills. On this same site remains the winery’s original facility built in the 1897, although investment in modern equipment and technology has since occurred.

Lagarde Guarda Malbec 2019 from Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

Style: New World Full Body Red

Varieties: 100% Malbec

This fruit dominant wine has precise fruit flavors of saskatoon berries, black currant, blackberries, black plum, tart red cherry, and black cherry, vanilla, caramel, tobacco, and forest floor. It has moderately high smooth ripe tannins and a round smooth texture.

Best pairings: Grilled Steaks with Chimichurri, Beef Empanadas with Tomatillo Salsa, BBQ Pork Ribs, BBQ Beef Brisket, Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, Blue Cheese Burger.

Serving Temperature: 16 degrees Celsius

Price: ~$33 (incl. Shades of Grape 15% discount & 5% gst)

Serving Tips: Just enjoy right out of the bottle.

I have compiled all my relevant wine recommendations in one place. I will do my best to keep this up to date. This version also has links on where to find the wines in Alberta. I also include the link(s) to the article in which the wine was featured.

Compilation: Shades of Grape Wine Recommendations

Eveline Chartier

November 21, 2023

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Compilation: Shades of Grape Wine Recommendations

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