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The popularity of Southern Hemisphere wines is soaring to new heights in the United States. Rich varietals coupled with budget-friendly prices are an attractive pairing for wine-lovers looking to expand their horizons. Wines from Australia, New Zealand and South America have spilled over onto to American tabletops, rapidly changing the way we think of Old World versus New World in both quality and variety.
Argentinean Malbecs are among the top imports, and North American consumers are singing the praises of High Note Wine, a recently launched label from Click Wine Group, which has brought us other international fanciful favorites such as Fat Bastard (France), Root: 1 (Chile), Clean Slate (Germany), Flying Fish (U.S.), 2 up (Australia), and Mad Dogs & Englishmen (Spain).
The company’s CEO, Peter Click, teamed with Laura Catena, an Argentine wine expert and investor in Vista del Sur Winery located in the Uco Valley, in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, the heart of Medoza, Argentina’s famed winemaking region. Ranging in altitude from 3,300 to 5,000 feet, the vineyards are among the highest in the world.
Intense desert sunlight, very cool nightly temperatures, and dry sandy soil provide the fruit with long hang times and concentrated flavors without excessive sugar. In addition, Vista del Sur blends Malbec fruit from a variety of microclimates within the Uco Valley region to achieve a more complex, balanced wine. The wine is processed in uniquely shaped tronco-conic tanks - tapered and smaller in diameter than the bottom - which compress grape skins in the cap and increase space for the cap and juice to mix during fermentation and maceration. The result is a higher extraction of Malbec’s soft tannins and more flavorful concentration and velvety texture in the finished wine.
High Note Malbec is my kind of red because it boasts the juicy characteristics of dark berries and plums with a spicy kick and long finish. I enjoy these kinds of wine on their own but find them enchanting with a hunk of dry cheese, sour dough bread and a swath of spicy mustard. At only $12.99, the High Note experience is available to all for at-home experimentation and (shall we say it?) had for a song.