Malbecs at Morton’s

Josh and I do manage to be busy people (even if what we are up to doesn’t always make the blog!). Last week we went and saw Clinton Kelly (from TLC’s “What Not to Wear”) do a fashion makeover show at Southdale (and picked up a few new duds for ourselves) and we also went to a screening of the new Star Trek film. Despite not knowing too much about the Star Trek franchise other than the names of a few main characters, I really enjoyed it!

On Wednesday we went to a malbec tasting at Morton’s, an old school steak place in downtown Minneapolis. We almost didn’t go because when I called the restaurant to see if they had spaces available nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. Luckily (for them, and us), they at least took our number and found somebody who knew what the scoop was call me back. Apparently they only do this sort of extra event quarterly, and not all staff was up on it.

Malbecs. In a word, yum! As Josh says, they are real tooth stainers – in other words, they are pretty much a red wine you are going to *know* you drank! Argentina, I believe, is the world’s largest producer of malbecs, even though it is originally a French grape. Other countries, such as Chile, also produce malbecs.

The first one we tried was actually a white — who knew?! It was a Trapiche Torrontes (Trapiche being the #1 wine grower in Argentina, according to the wine distributor on hand). It smelled like a moscato but tasted more like a chardonnay (not the oaky, buttery kind). Had what I call a “bright, hay” taste with a light citrus flavor.

Next up was a Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec, which we have bought and drank at home several times. This is a seriously awesome wine, particularly if you like that delicious campfire smoke taste in a wine. YUM. Allegedly this is the #1 malbec in Argentina, and I see no reason to disagree!

Next up was a Michel Torino Don David, which we had never tried before. It is a dry and smoky wine. Also tried the Broquel, which I am pretty sure we've had before. It was not as dry or smoky as the others. I’d say it was a solid wine, but a pretty run of the mill red compared to the others – not awesome (and smoky!) like you expect from a good malbec. Last was a Trapiche single vineyard Adriana Venturin. In a word, smooth. And tasty :)

Our wine host told us that Argentina used to churn out some crap wines, getting 7 tons of grapes to the acre (I think). The standard is 5 tons, so they were using basically anything that came off the vine. They have refined their practices, though, and are turning out some really good stuff.

Beyond the tasting, Morton’s served up some snacks for us. Your basic cheese and crackers, of course, but also large scallops and a skirt steak with chimichurri sauce. Yum and yum. I am seriously going to have to re-think my whole anti-seafood thing, at least as far as scallops go!

Neither of us had ever been to Morton’s before. I didn’t realize, but it is actually a story below street level. It had a cool vibe, very old school, kind of like Murray’s. It looked small but we were off in one area so didn’t really explore the joint. Their menu looked pretty good, as did their bar area. I kind of expected Frank Sinatra to come waltzing around the corner.

These wine tastings can be a little random since Josh and I usually come by ourselves and don’t know anyone else. However, two girls ended up joining us at our table and they were very fun. We even ended up staying past when the tasting was over just to keep talking a little longer. Wine – it will make friends out of strangers!