Norton Malbec Reserva, 2005 — Mendoza, Argentina. $12 (14% alc/vol) We are big fans of Malbec but hadn’t tried this winery before, and thus we had no idea what to expect from them. To our great joy, we found this to be a thoroughly delightful wine! A huge nose full of raspberries, strawberries and figs gives way to a medium bodied palate full of still more fruit and gentle oak tannins. The 12 months in French oak for this wine was just perfect, leaving the oak understated, yet powerful. This juicy wine finished just the way it started, with lots of fruit and gentle tannins. We paired it with lasagna and were not disappointed, as the two complemented each other beautifully. From a quick tour of the internet, we find that our bottle was probably a bit old, as the current vintage is 2006. But no matter. This wine gets 5 Stars and our Highest Recommendation.
