2008 Antis Cabernet Sauvignon

Grown on the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains in the Maipe district of the Mendoza Region in Argentina. The wine sees six months in French oak.

The color is a beautiful burgundy red. The nose is bright young red fruit, strawberries and raspberries, vanilla and a touch of spice. Rich flavors, plums and blackberries,hints of milk chocolate, with a shot of spice with each swallow. Nice vanilla cola finish. A young wine, but reasonably complex. Not too much oak, tannins are well balanced.

A yummy well priced wine. Argentina is one of the first places to look for wonderful wine values.

2008 Maipe Malbec

Estate grown and bottled in Mendoza, Argentina, purchased for $7.99. The nose reminds me of a roadside fruit stand in the autumn during harvest, all fruit, flowers and green grass. The color is dark, rich and opaque. Alcohol content is a reasonable 13.7%. It tastes of dark fruit, plums and berries with a slight pull from the tannins in the back of your mouth. It thickly coats your mouth, this is no wimpy, watery wine. The finish is long and intense.

Did I say this wine sells for $7.99? A few years back, when I first tasted Argentinian wine they all had a “green stick” flavor that I wasn’t too fond of, but those days are long gone. This wine is not just good considering the cost, it is simply flat out good. This one’s going on Cheapwinefinder’s Top Ten Wines of 2009 list.

And you can get it here for < $10.