Has Tribunal Fallout seeped into the system? Or Ides of March angst? It has been an odd kind of week - one in which I've found myself sitting up late at night meditating on mixed personalities and the dark, unfathomable sides of human nature. This in the presence of an interesting companion who, most evenings, has been hanging around since dinner time. A wine with a changeable character itself: sometimes brooding and intense; sometimes upbeat and easygoing; sometimes (dare I say it), just a touch syrupy. Malbec.
It's intriguing to see how this grape, generally seen as the great red hope of Argentina, is winning its way into our hearts. Five years ago, you'd never have heard Malbec mentioned, except maybe at some pretty stuffy wine seminar. The lecturer would have been making sure his students knew the name of the grape that makes Cahors - the inky black and massively tannic wine from southwest France - besides lingering in dwindling quantities around Bordeaux. Now, of course, its main identity is as a stand-alone varietal. I'm still not sure that I've overheard anybody asking for a bottle of Malbec - in spite of all the hours I spend mooching around wine shops. But the latest word on the retail grapevine is that it's in brisk demand.
"It sells phenomenally well," says Janette Kelly, manager of Oddbins in Clontarf. She should know, because a major fan of Argentina, Oddbins has an impressive selection of Malbecs - 12 varietal wines plus a couple of Malbec-dominated blends, if all this late-night imbibing hasn't impaired my ability to count. As with the Oddbins Greek range mentioned last week it is evidence of how this group goes prospecting in exciting places - in both these cases, long-established wine regions which have recently been shaken out of a deep sleep.
What's the secret of Malbec's appeal? "It's different," says Conal Cassidy of United Beverages, whose Trapiche Malbec - the first version to appear on Irish shelves, six or seven years ago - is now a major seller, catching up fast on its brother Cabernet .
"It always goes down really well at tastings, and once people have tried it, they love it." The lushness of Malbec - its fleshy character and smooth, sensuous texture, often allied with heady blackberry-perfumed fruit - gives it impact and immediate allure.
"People are fed up with insipid wines," Janette Kelly confirms. `Malbec is a great change from the usual varietals. And usually it's in the £5£7 price range, whereas Chile and Australia are tending to move beyond that now. Argentina is fantastic for quality and value." That, no doubt, is why Argentine wine exports to Ireland more than doubled in 1998.
I think it's fair to say that, while some unevenness in quality is still apparent, standards overall have taken an upwards leap. Political stability has brought new investment to Argentina's wine industry, just as perfect growing conditions for disease-free grapes have brought a string of young winemakers, keen to work with peerless raw material.
"Argentina is absolutely fascinating," said the Australian Robin Day - winemaking consultant to Groupe Pernod Ricard and the man who gave us Jacob's Creek - in Dublin before Christmas to introduce his Argentine babies from Bodegas Etchart. "It has a brilliant food culture, and although the wine quality on average is inferior to Chile's, it's improving more rapidly. Argentina is warmer, so the wines are fleshier." The province of Mendoza apparently makes as much wine as Australia and South Africa put together.
Mendoza, sleepy though it sounds, is the world's biggest wine city. I wish I had managed to skip over the border to visit there on a wine trip to Chile last year, making the short but notoriously bumpy flight up over the Andes from Santiago, into the sunbaked terrain that is Malbec's natural home. I do remember remarking on the quality of the steaks in a roadside restaurant up in Aconcagua, though, and being told: "They have to be good, because the border with Argentina is straight on up the road, and all the customers from there expect good meat." I've thought of those steaks a few times this week while tasting Malbec after Malbec. Because while some are young and fruity enough to drink on their own, the more serious, oaky styles cry out for juicy hunk of beef.
One other thing that struck me, which may be worth passing on, is that Malbec can open up and change character in the glass to a remarkable degree - tasting round and opulent at first, then almost burnt, like seared meat (those steaks again), 20 minutes later. But overall it's an engaging grape in Argentine hands, rich and personable. Try it soon, while there are still plenty of tasty wines to choose from - El Nino wreaked havoc with the 1998s.
Malbecs to mull over
Santa Isabel Malbec, Nieto y Senetiner, 1997 (Dunnes Stores, £4.99). Here's that promised Argentinian quality and value taken to the ultimate. See Bottle of the Week.
Etchart Rio de Plata Malbec, 1996 (Molloys and many other independent off-licences, £5.79£5.99). Set to become the Jacob's Creek of Argentina? Robin Day's Malbec is a smooth, chocolatey version. "An explosion of fruit in the mouth," he says - and there's a nice dash of pepper in the finish.
Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec, 1994 (Superquinn and many other outlets, usually £6.99). Judging by sales, a lot of people view this old favourite as the the original and best. I can't blame them. A very harmonious wine with sweet blackberry and apple character, matured in new French oak.
Isla Negra Malbec, Vina Patgonia, 1996 (Oddbins, £6.99). A great all-rounder for easy drinking - broad, soft and amply fruity with a warming, spicy finish. Unlike many, this one is just as enjoyable on its own or with a tiny snack as with a meal.
Norton Malbec, 1996 (McCabes Merrion, Mill Wine Cellar Maynooth, £6.49£6.99; also James Nicholson Kildare and Crossgar). From one of Argentina's most modern wineries, the Austrian-owned Norton, this is a much more chewy, tannic number - a knife-and-fork wine that definitely needs main-course meat.
Simonassi Lyon Malbec, 1998 (Foleys Cabinteely, Lord Mayor's Swords, Noble Rot Navan, Pat Boshell Laytown, Fine Wines Limerick, O'Donovans Cork and other outlets, usually £6.99). This 1998 version (obviously, one not ruined by El Nino) is very upfront, very voluptuous.
Still a bit on the young side, but I can see people going for those easy flavours. Damsons, raspberries, chocolate . . . sounds ridiculous, but this is it.
Marques de Grinon Malbec, Dominio de Agrelo, 1996 (Oddbins, £7.49). A real beauty, this - terrifically concentrated and rich. A marriage of ripe, brambly fruit and sweet, spicy American oak, with plenty of acidity to keep it enticing and a good, lingering finish.