Wine of the month:
Terrazas de Los Andes Reserva Malbec

Matching wine with food really is as far from an exact science as you can get. Sure, us sommeliers do hours of exhaustive tasting (violins please) to find them special combinations that just work but an individuals taste is, of course, totally subjective. What works for me might not neccasarily work for you. The most important rule is to not stick to the rules, try new things and experiment! You may well discover something unexpectedly delicious.

In complete contradiction to this theory, this month’s wine is one half of a truely classic match; Malbec and beef.

The grape, Malbec originated in Bordeaux, France but was taken over to Argentina in the 1850's. Here it thrived in it's prefered envoironment of a hot, dry and sunny landscape. Today it is synonymous with Argentina and is now their most planted grape. A perfect accompaniment to the kilos of cow they hurl down their bronzed necks on a regular basis, it’s also heavenly with a dark bitter chocolate.

Terrazas de Los Andes is a winery based in Argie's main wine region; Mendoza. Set up in the 1950’s it is owned by Moet & Chandon and was their first ever endeavour outside of France. I tried the Terrazas Reserva Malbec 2007 in a recent tasting with my colleagues where we tasted a series of Malbecs with different cuts of beef and marked them accordingly. I sell the Terrazas at Gaucho quite frequently as it’s a true crowd pleaser and full of classic Malbec traights. Oodles of violets and jammy blackberries on the nose with a full and rich mouth giving way to fine tannins providing a gorgeously chocolaty soft finish.

This was my top dog with the rump cut. The chocolate accentuated by the irony flavour of the cut and the fine tannins going perfectly with the lean, hard working back end of the cow that needs little in the way of a dry red to cut through it’s barely existing fat. If this isn’t enough to send you to Malbec heaven try a drop with Green & Blacks Maya Gold but don’t forget to take the phone off the hook.

Terrazas Malbec is available at Cavas De Gaucho,
25 Swallow Street, London W1B 4DJ (T 020 7734 4040)
for £17.85