Glassware

A Malbec from Mendoza needs space, more than most drinkers give it. The color is dense. So dense that you can barely see through the rim — and this very fullness calls for a wide bowl that brings a large surface into contact with air. A glass that's too narrow traps the aroma before it can unfold.

The classic Bordeaux shape has proven itself: a tall bowl, more cylindrical than round, with six hundred milliliters of volume and a comparatively straight rim. This shape lets the wine breathe slowly instead of flooding it abruptly with oxygen. That matters for a variety whose tannins, though round, are still present in young wines.

When it comes to temperature, the mistake is almost always in the same direction: too warm. Sixteen to eighteen degrees Celsius shows Malbec at its best. Below that, the alcohol feels harsh and the tannins tighten up; above that, alcohol takes over while the delicate plum and violet fruit fades into the background. Twenty minutes in the fridge is usually enough to rescue a wine served too warm.

A young Malbec from the plain can be poured and enjoyed right away. A wine from Gualtallary or the rest of the Valle de Uco with a few years in the bottle, on the other hand, benefits from half an hour in a decanter. Altitude gives these wines more acidity and a tighter structure, and both open up more slowly than the rich fruit of a Malbec from a warmer site.

For Bonarda, a normal, somewhat narrower red wine glass will do. It has less tannin and less color than Malbec and doesn't need the same stage. Tasting both wines side by side, you can already tell from the glass which of the two plays the leading role here.