Nederberg 2001 Private Bin Malbec (review)

87 points

Price unknown, but probably around $15-$20AUD.

This wine is one of a range made for the Nederberg wine auction, so it is not widely available. We had an informal tasting of Malbecs while I was in the US (all from Argentina and a few from Chile) and this one would be one of the better ones. It has a spicy nose and reasonable length with definite mint and earthy flavours. Many of the commerical malbecs we tasted in the US were very short and not complex.

This wine, while not a Bordeaux certainly seems to be in that style and class for its price range. There is evidence of oak, but the fruit handles it well. Like many South Africa wines, it has less overripe characters and more earthy spicy characters, like European wines.