The Tussock Jumper Malbec is sourced from grapes grown in the Mendoza growing region of Argentina. The Mendoza region is in the foothills of the Andes and is the highest (in altitude) wine growing area in the world. The high altitude gives the grapevines intense exposure to sunlight. The Tussock Jumper Malbec is the Argentinian part of a line of 13 world wines, each produced by a well known winery in their perspective country, each having an animal wearing a red sweater (jumper) on the label and the best part, each selling for $9.99. This Malbec has some oak aging (there isn’t any information available on how the wine was produced) and the alcohol content is 14%.
The color is a dark crimson red with a pink halo. The nose is plums, a box of Godiva chocolates, cinnamon Red Hots candy, a whiff of olive and vanilla. There is some flavor going on here, this is not one of your usual dark fruit, chocolate and vanilla Malbec’s, rich, extracted raspberry and curry spice start things off, followed by blackberry and oak spice.The mid palate adds rich creamy vanilla, raisin and a hint of herbal tea. The tannins are there you can sense them at the mid-palate, they add good structure but they don’t get in the way of the flavor. The finish is not strong, but does not go away.
The Tussock Jumper Malbec is not a homogenized, happy to be in the middle Malbec, its well made, with bold, strong flavor. A ten buck, challenging, complex Malbec. You can drink this with the usual burger and pizza, but I think drinking it on its own is the best use for this wine.
