Tasting Notes: The Trumpeter Malbec is a huge fruit bomb of a wine that is thoroughly pleasing for $10 a bottle. It is deep purple in color with strawberry, raspberry, plum and ripe figs screaming from the glass. I also found a substantial amount of cinnamon and vanilla. There’s a lot of oak and the big, chewy tannins give it a long finish. It’s a pretty straightforward wine, so I wouldn’t serve it at a state dinner, but in the proper context it’s an excellent value. Food Pairing Suggestions: If you’re going to drink an Argentine wine, then you might as well do it with Argentine food. They go perfectly together. These big Malbecs need fatty grilled meat, and there’s nothing better for that than an Argentine street food classic – the choripan (sausage “chorizo” + bread “pan”). If you’ve ever been to Argentina and didn’t eat one, then you’ve never been to Argentina. In essence it’s a grilled sausage on a baguette topped with chimichurri, a type of salsa consisting of parsley, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and any number of other herbs and spices. You can easily make these on the grill in the backyard, and if you want to take it to the next level substitute morcilla (blood sausage) for traditional sausage. That will step up the richness and really compliment the wine. You can also serve this Trumpeter with just about any sort of grilled meat, assuming it is well seasoned (but not too spicy because of the tannins) and fairly fatty. Finally, while not a perfect pairing on the palate, beef empanadas and Malbec are never a bad idea.
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