Wine Dinner: Alta Vista Malbec

Dinner- Chantilly, VA with the in-laws

Over spring break, I made a visit to northern Virginia to visit my brother and his wife for a weekend. We ended up making a surprise trip to Chantilly to my sister-in-law's parents house for dinner. It just so happened that Mr. Manley (her father) was pouring a new bottle of Alta Vista Malbec out of his decanter back into the bottle to serve with dinner that evening.
The Malbec was a 2011 vintage from Mendoza, Argentina. At first glance I wondered why a red was being sold so soon after being fermented, but within the first few sips I found out why. It was not an overly sweet red, but the overwhelming flavor and texture was of butter and vanilla. It was a very creamy sensation, and I could tell that the wine was aged for a short period of time in new American oak to give it those distinct flavors. Sure enough, I looked at the bottle and it explained that the wine had been aged 6 months in American oak and then 6 months in French oak.
Our dinner consisted of beef, mashed potatoes, applesauce and green beans. Not by coincidence, the Mrs. Manley had soaked the beans and potatoes in butter while cooking, bringing out the flavors in the wine even more. I realized that even though I enjoyed the Malbec from first taste, it become more and more flavorful as the meal progressed, especially as I ate four to five slices of the beef. The beef would have been very good soaked in the Malbec as well, but it served as an excellent pairing for the meal. My second glass seemed even smoother and less tart than the first, and I realized that the foods were affecting my palette and really bringing out the smoothness and creaminess of the Malbec.
We finished off the meal with cheesecake with an assorted berry topping of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Although there was no separate dessert wine, I tried what Alta Vista I had left with the cheesecake. It did not pair as well, since the sweetness and sugar levels did not compare to the food I had been eating before. A moscato or light, sweet red would have paired excellently with that dessert, and not a creamy or tart wine.
This was the first experience I had where a wine got progressively better as I drank it, and it was due in part to the food I was eating with it. My review of the Alta Vista Malbec would be a positive one, but it is much better paired with food than sipped on by itself, and it does not pair with anything sweet. While it is not tart or bitter, it is a very smooth red with a satisfying finish.