WINE REVIEW: Tapiz Malbec Rose, NV Extra Brut, Mendoza, Argentina ($20)

andychalk
5 days ago
2 min read

by Andrew Chalk

A very good sparkling wine. However, don't approach this wine expecting that, because it is made with the same method as Champagne, it is going to smell and taste similar. This is quite adventurous winemaking. First, in the use of malbec, rather than the Champagne recipe. Second, in making a sparkling wine that is fruit-driven rather than built around autolyzed reactions.

Just as with red malbec table wine, Argentinian winemakers could be pushing the boundary here to sieze ground in the flavor spectrum that was hitherto unclaimed. I look forward to future examples.

Finally, at $20 this wine is a bargain.

TASTING NOTES

NAME:	Tapiz Malbec Rose, NV Extra Brut, Mendoza, Argentina ($20)
	COMMENTS
APPEARANCE
Clarity	clear
Intensity	Medium
Color	Pink-orange

NOSE
Condition	clean
Intensity	Medium plus
Aroma Characteristics	Canteloupe, grapefruit, tangerine, peach, yellow apples, herbaciousness

PALATE
Sweetness	dry
Acidity	Medium-plus
Tannin
Alcohol	Medium
Body	Medium-plus
Flavor intensity	Medium-plus
Flavor characterstics	Confirms the fruits in the nose but expressed through a seductive phenolic backbone.
Other observations
Finish	Medkium plus

Quality Assessment	Very good. However, don't taste this wine expecting that, because it is made with the same method as Champagne, it is going to smell and taste similar. This is quite adventurous winemaking. First, in the use of malbec, rather than the Champagne recipe. Second, in making a sparkling wine that is fruit-driven rather than built around autolyzed reactions. Just as with red malbec table wine, Argentinian winemakers could be pushing the boundary here to sieze ground in the flavor spectrum that was hitherto unclaimed. I look forward to future examples. Finally, at $20 this wine is a bargain.
Bottle aging	Suitable

WINERY VINTAGE NOTES

WINERY INFORMATION: e Tapiz Winery, located in the San Pablo I.G. in Mendoza’s Uco Valley, has one of the highest vineyards in Mendoza at 4,600 feet above sea level. Under the ownership and vision of Patricia Ortiz, Tapiz is a pioneer in the region and helped develop San Pablo into one of Argentina’s most renowned IGs. e state-of-the art winery is located in the heart of the estate vineyards, at the foothills of the Andes Mountains.

LABEL NOTES: Tapiz is Spanish for “tapestry”; the label and capsule display the dierent components combined to create the wine, such as its high-altitude fruit, the land, the sun, and the workers.

FERMENTATION: Traditional Method (Champenoise). Alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks at low temperature (12˚C) later claried and stabilized. Once in bottle, yeasts are added to take place the second fermentation. Disgorgement, tirage liqueur added (extra brut) and immediate placement of natural cork and wire muzzle.

COLOR: Bright Pink