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• A look at Malbecs

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Address: 119 N. Walnut St. Champaign, IL 61821
Phone: (217) 398-7729
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I think it’s high time everyone be formally introduced to Malbecs. There are a lot of ardent fans of this red wine, but the majority of casual wine drinkers stick to their Merlots, Cabernets and Zinfandels. But Malbecs offer something new that can really shake things up for a bored palate.

While out at Radio Maria, I took a long hard look at their wine list and, lo and behold, Urban Uco Malbec was listed towards the bottom, just waiting to fulfill my recent dreams of tasting one of these wines. Described as dark and fruity on the menu, I was surprised not to be hit with an overly strong fruitiness upon sniffing and tasting. Instead, it had a kind of earthy smell and a taste of dirt. Don’t misconstrue this as a bad thing despite the lackluster imagery: it was delicious and exciting, both exotic and comforting at the same time. After the initial flavor shock, deep berry-like flavors rushed in and its smoothness left a delightful feeling down the esophagus as I swallowed it. I was hooked.

I did a little research on Malbecs the next day. Urban Uco hails from Argentina, which is an up–and-coming star in the world of Malbecs. However, they used to be widely produced in the Bordeaux region of France and were often blended with other regional grapes. However, less and less acreage is being devoted to growing this grape over in France not only because of a decline in popularity, but also because the vine is susceptible to many types of diseases which wiped out many vineyards’ Malbecs over the years.

Argentine versions of the vine are slightly different from the French, bearing smaller and tighter clusters with softer tannins. The result is a velvety wine with less of a pucker factor that some of its Gallic counterparts. It’s a nice change of pace from the usual red wine rigmarole and a great late summer wine as the nights start to cool off a little more.