A Nice $6 Argentinean Malbec Blend from a Bordeaux Wine Making Family

Every now and then I truly revel in the pleasure that is being The Wine Scrooge. Most days however, like yesterday for example, are a real drag. I pop open a discount bottle of red and force myself to suffer through several interminable tastes to make sure the wine is truly as bad as my first impression. And, alas, it always is. And then, after soldiering through the mine field laden tasting, I sit down to write a review that provides no joy to anyone – and serves only as a warning of money to be wasted on another bad bottle of sub-fifteen dollar wine.

Well, tonight is not one of those nights. This is one of those nights that recharges my wine tasting batteries and gives me reason to persevere in my mission to root out crappy wine and spotlight the true super value reds available for everyday enjoyment.

The 2009 Phebus MMC from the winemakers at Fabre Montmayou is just such a wine. It was a surprising and enjoyable find during my recent trip to the Mecca of wine stores, Total Wine that led me to this intriguing Malbec blend.

Hervé Joyaux Fabre, the founder of the winery, hails from Bordeaux, France, and comes from a well established vintner family. Fabre brought a clear passion for winemaking to Argentina along with a deep rooted understanding that every bottle, regardless of the price, should be enjoyable.

The 2009 MMC is a testament to this belief and offers a blended Malbec that is ruby red in color with a light fruit-filled kick that is at times not too complex while still filling the glass with an entirely enjoyable glass of wine. The 2009 is a blend of 70% Malbec, 15% Merlot and 15% Cabernet (hence the name “MMC”).

Moments after corking the bottle the medium tannins grab your palette and let you know that this is still very much a young wine. 15 minutes into the tasting however the Phebus opens up nicely with red berry-jammyness filling out the glass.

In the super-value price range today, few bottles are drinkable let alone enjoyable. For $6 a bottle you will be hard pressed to find a better Argentinean red than the 2009 MMC.

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