RAISE A GLASS

This weekend a grape variety steps up to enjoy its name day. On April 17, World Malbec Day is celebrated. If you need an excuse to sip a glass of malbec then maybe this is it.

Malbec has been adopted by Argentina but its roots lie in south west France. Red wines from Cahors are dominated by malbec.

One of my daughter’s favourite reds is Tesco Finest Cahors Malbec (£7.50) which I’ve introduced here before.

Or try Morrisons, The Best Cahors Malbec (£8), a wine full of black fruits, blackcurrants, dried fruit, with edges of black pepper spice and cedar wood.

There’s a new French malbec in Aldi – Pierre Jaurant French Malbec (£5.99). It is chocolatey with flavours of dark black fruits, a shake of vanilla and a nod towards herbs.

World Malbec Day has been created by the wine people of Argentina, so it’s only fair I head there for two more malbecs.

Zuccardi ‘Q’ Malbec 2019 (£15.99, Majestic, or £13.99 in a buy six deal) speaks to me of a glass of red, sitting alongside a tasty steak. It’s a comfort you can rely on when the world around is very strange these days. It has black and red fruits, chocolate notes and a brush with violets.

Luigi Bosca Malbec Seleccion de Vistalba (£16.99, Waitrose) is made by Bodega Luigi Bosca, a winery founded 120 years ago by the Arizu family. They were the first to plant vines in Mendoza – the region now thought of as the home of malbec.

The wine has aromas of ripe blackberry fruit with edges of vanilla and toast. There’s an ethereal sense of being outdoors on a heathercovered hillside and a mossy, tumbledown flurry of grass.

Also in my glass … There’s a new red wine from one of the UK’s most familiar wine brands in supermarket aisles, Campo Viejo. It has released Winemakers’ Blend (RRP £8.25) which is already in Tesco, followed by Ocado later in the month and Morrisons from May 17. It is a blend of tempranillo, garnacha and a lesser-known grape, bobal.

I spoke to one of the three winemakers who created the wine – Elena Adell – who told me they wanted to use grapes which were representative of Spanish varieties.

The wine is very sippable, with red fruits and a splash of vanilla.

Jane is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Find her on social media and online as One Foot in the Grapes.