The Pampa Estate Malbec 2014 is a $4.99 ALDI import exclusive sourced from vineyards in the Mendoza region of Argentina. Mendoza is the largest grape producing region in Argentina and is located on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains (the wine regions of Chile are on the western side). ALDI doesn’t give much information on this wine, but at 5 bucks you don’t expect too much of a story. The alcohol content is 13%.
The color is a dark, barely see-thru, cherry red, with black highlights. The nose is blackberry, plum, flowers and ripe cherry. This is a smooth, dry Malbec, not particularly complex, but with a nice hit of spice on the mid-palate. It starts with raspberry, plum and cherry, soft, rounded, ripe fruit. The mid-palate brings strawberry, and exotic spice. The tannins are out-of-the-way and the acidity is soft. The finish is subtle and fades before too long.
The Pampa Estate Malbec 2014 is a “no issues”, soft, fruity, $5 Malbec. It drinks fine and will do a good job paired with a Chipolte steak burrito or tacos from a cool local food truck. If money is an issue, the Pampa Estate Malbec is a decent choice, the only problem is, there are some very good Argentinean Malbec closer to $10 that are good wines, not decent for 5 buck wine. If all you have to spend is ten dollars and you need a couple of bottles of Malbec, the Pampa Estate is a good value.
