McKinley Springs Horse Heaven Hills Malbec – Eye-Openingly Good

Bring on the Malbec from Washington State!

Malbec from Horse Heaven Hills, Columbia Valley, Washington.

The McKinley Springs Horse Heaven Hills Malbec has an SRP of $24 and is available for as low as $18.49. Only 236 cases produced. Sample submitted for review.

From the bottle:

Aged 18 months in 20% new French oak this wine has inviting aromas of blackberry jam, cinnamon spice and cloves with good tannin structure.

14.4% Alcohol

You may have noticed a trend here at Reverse Wine Snob over the last few months, and that is our growing love for wine from Washington State. Washington is our country’s second largest producer of grapes, behind the state of California (of course), but it is a very distant second producing just 5.5% as many grapes (in terms of tons) in 2014. That said, it sure is a tasty 5.5%.

And while we normally feature Merlot, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon or even red blends from this area, today we are featuring a variety you might not expect – Malbec. In fact, Malbec is the 5th most produced red variety in the state, it’s just not often that you see single varietal bottlings (versus being blended in with other varieties). Based on what we sampled in this wine, we hope that will be changing soon.

The 2010 McKinley Springs Horse Heaven Hills Malbec begins with a very pleasant aroma of blackberry, plum, vanilla and nice touches of baking spice. Taking a sip reveals lots of rich, delicious fruit wrapped up in some really excellent oaky notes. Featuring a lush, smooth mouthfeel this is a really fun wine to drink. Cola, licorice and notes of tobacco lead into the dry, long and grippy finish. Bring on the Malbec from Washington State!

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.