does Malbec remind you of Shiraz?

Or vice-versa? Im asking this because lately, a lot of visitors from abroad that come into out shop find themselves comparing these two varietals. As the audience on this board is mostly non-Argentine, Im wondering what your experiences, impressions and thoughts on this are.

Thanks.

They don't remind me of each other.

To me, malbec is meaty, dense, and when tannic, it is to the top!

A shiraz that is not made into tasting like a blueberry drink (and many are) is raisin-like, slightly peppery, and can be tannic but somehow doesn't feel as puckering as malbec.

Of course, I could be all wrong...

I don't think of Malbec and Syrah/Shiraz as especially close, but I think a lot of non-geeky consumers think of "Shiraz" as a stylistic idea of very ripe, oak-accented, fruit forward big reds, and some of the most popular Malbecs (in US) can be made in that rather "international" style (Norton Reserve, for instance).

I've never thought of them as similar. Maybe some people might make a comparison because the most common expressions of both Malbec and Shiraz are very fruit-forward. But I find them quite different.

I don't have a whole lot of experience w/ Malbecs, but the five or six I've tasted could never be compared to anything else...the aroma and taste are completely unique in my opinion (wish I could be more specific, but I've never quite been able to describe what that unique characteristic reminds me of).

Some forumites know I am a big Malbec fan, just look at the recent Open Mike!! Never thought any ressemblance to shiraz though. Now I wonder who will be the first to try a blend>>>>>LOL.

I have to add my voice to the chorus of "no"s. I've always mentally binned malbec with the Bordeaux grape varieties rather than with syrah.

-Paul W.

I find Malbecs, even given my limited exposure, to be a little more "rustic" in character-and this is not a negative point to me. Definitely a "red fruit" character????

Aussie Shiraz are more fruity, smoother?

Malbec by way of Cahors certainly seems to have higher acid and tannin than Shiraz from Australia.

But maybe you meant something different geographically?

I don't see them in the same light. I go for malbec in the Cahors/Languedoc tradition. Always I will favor that rustic, brawny, and earthy character over the jamminess of Australia. Just my $0.02.

rwj

Thanks for sharing your impressions.... I basically agree with the concept that Malbec is very different to Shiraz, I guess many folks new to Malbec tend to look at the similarities with some of the rushed and very young Malbecs (and Shirazes) that are rushed to market with a distinct jammy end to them.

Alejandro,

The world of wine is definitely beginning to taste too much the same. Blame the US and Australia for that...

Well.... there are winemakers on every continent to blame for this. Its the classic case of a business persons asking for a "drinkable" wine that produces many good drinks but that somehow lack a soul.

I can see where people are coming from, but I think Malbec is quite a difficult variety to nail down a taste profile, and the French ones don't seem to me to be that close to the Argentina ones. There are some rough edged rustic ones, but there are alos some finely polished examples.

My partner loves Syrah/Shiraz but has decided her dislike of Malbec is such that we can't have it anymore , so for her they are not alike.

However I tasted a wonderful one which I have on order and thus I will have to serve blind - 2004 Bodega Colome Malbec Estate - Argentina, Salta

Peter,

Don't take your partner to visit Cahors. Can't get away from Malbec there!

I guess I can see where some low-end Argentinian Malbec might be viewed as similar to low end Australian Shiraz, particularly in terms of structure, but it seems to me there is as much or more structural variation between Cahors Malbec and Agentinian Malbec as there is between Rhone Syrah and Australian Shiraz. I'm sure that in the broad range from highly structured traditional to soft saggy wine of each variety, wines can be found that are comparable, at least in structure. To me, they don't taste the same at all, but that's a purely personal thing.

Thanks for sharing your impressions.... I basically agree with the concept that Malbec is very different to Shiraz, I guess many folks new to Malbec tend to look at the similarities with some of the rushed and very young Malbecs (and Shirazes) that are rushed to market with a distinct jammy end to them.

Hello Al,
I dug up this link for you -- Open Mike: MALBEC... -- there was obviously a heck of a lot of response to this thread and some of the TN's may be helpful for conclusions to your "shiraz" question. I still have several bottles of Malbecs or blends that I've yet to try and then post to the "Open Mike" thread, so, there's even more Malbec to come! I might even try one or two of them this weekend, so stay tuned.

Later, Aaron.

Quite so Aaron, the Open Mike Malbec thread is here to stay!!! Until Robin is convinced to do a Wine Focus at least. LOL.

Last weekend, we met another couple for dinner at a nearby restaurant featuring Argentine food. (Yes, lots of beef.) We ended up with an interesting mix of entrees: 2 beef, 1 pork and 1 Chilean Sea Bass. The wine for the evening was a bottle of 2004 Pascual Toso Malbec Reserva (about $16 retail). It did not come across as a Syrah-lite, rather it had its own style of blue fruit flavors, with medium body and just enough softness to go well with my Sea Bass.

-- Clark

Well.... there are winemakers on every continent to blame for this. Its the classic case of a business persons asking for a "drinkable" wine that produces many good drinks but that somehow lack a soul.

How true!

When vinified to retain varietal character and express terroir the two wines are as different as night and day. Or sometimes more different. A good Syrah from, say, Hermitage, and a good Malbec from the Loire are as different as night on Mars and night on Venus.

Alejandro,

I must say that Malbec never reminds me of Shiraz. If anything, I find it very similar to Merlot in terms of aromatics, but I find that Malbec tends to have a more sinewy structure than Merlot; it's also got a nice lithe redcurrant streak to it. But Shiraz? Not at all.

The grapes that remind me of Shiraz would be Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch for their intense peppery aromatics (though they tend to be higher-acid than Syrah) and the hybrids, Baco Noir and Marechal Foch, which although not peppery, often display the kind of porky/meaty funk that Syrah can be known for. Also, Baco Noir, appropriately, can sometimes even have aromas befitting the first 5 letters of its name: bacon.