Malbec is grown by a few wineries on the Strangbird Trail - Ballandean Estate, Golden Grove, Bungawarra, Whisky Gully and Summit Estate.
A rich dark purple with blackberrry and violet notes, Malbec loves high elevation. In lower elevations, Malbec grapes struggle to produce the acidity they need to create great tasting and long lasting wine. High elevation areas with a wide diurnal temperature shift, typified by hot days and cold nights, make the grapes produce more acidity
Jeff Harden from Bungawarra says that in his vineyard, Malbec
in relatively small quantities was planted by previous
owners about 1982, for use as a blender with Cabernet Sauvignon as was
traditional in France in the Bordeaux blend. A few years ago, he realised his biggest, healthiest vines were by now those Malbec - it clearly liked
it here, so he budded some of my other vines across to Malbec (using buds from
my existing Malbec to keep the clone pure). His first 100% Malbec
wine was made at last in 2012 - a huge, peppery/berry wine ideal with
barbecues and game.
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