What’s the popular saying?  “Everything old is new again.”  How about this one?  “What comes around goes around.”  Okay, what if we sort of combine the two and rework them a bit? 

How’s this for size? 

“Something old may come around again when you least expect it.”

So what am I referring to here?  Once upon a time there was a terrific label from Argentina that our stores used to consistently carry.  The winery was Bodegas Melipal, located in the Lujan de Cuyo district of Mendoza.  I remember visiting this estate back in early 2008 along with Brad Lewis and Atanas Nechkov where we spent time with the Aristi family at their state-of-the-art facility in Agrelo.  I recall being impressed with their wines, particularly with winemaker Martin Tosolini’s tasty take on old-vine Malbec. 

When the wine made it into the stores, our wine staff was excited about Melipal Malbec too.  In fact, before we had our current all-star lineup of Argentine producers, Melipal was a timely indicator of the remarkable QPR these wines offered.  It was a revelation and would eventually lead to an expansion our South American portfolio.

To make a long story short, over time the brand started off hot but ultimately lost some steam with us.  But it wasn’t pertaining of any quality issues.  The wine was consistently very good, vintage after vintage.  In retrospect, the problems may have been more supply related than anything else.

Well it seems that Bodegas Melipal Malbec ($18.99) has been resurrected again at ABCFWS.  This time it’s one of our Direct-To-You selections!  And we hit the ground running, so to speak, with the solid 2009 vintage. The latest offering garnered a 90 point rating from IWR.  It’s a great choice with a tender, flavorful Tri-Tip, grilled mid-rare!

And this time around we’ve also added the juicy Melipal Malbec Rose ($14.99) too.  It would pair well with fresh sockeye salmon or a platter of grilled choripan with chimichurri. 

Jim Greeley, WS SWFL

Follow me on Twitter at @ABCWineJimG