Drink This: Bookcliff Vineyards 2022 Hawkridge Vineyard Malbec
With ripe fruit, well-integrated oak, and reasonable alcohol, this is one of the better Colorado-grown reds I've had in some time
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I seem to be on a run of tasting delicious malbec from all over the United States for the past couple of weeks.
Colorado wine isn’t something I’m too familiar with — I only taste 10-20 per year — but this malbec from Bookcliff Vineyards in Palisade, Colorado was my favorite from a recent tasting of a small handful of Colorado-grown reds.
(Side note: There is plenty of non-Colorado fruit being used by Colorado wineries — to the point that the wineries who don’t do it put things like “Grown in Colorado” on their labels to differentiate.)
This Bookcliff Vineyards 2022 Hawkridge Vineyard Malbec ($40*) was aged in a combination of older oak, 25% new American oak, and 25% new French oak. It is very aromatic, with black-and-blue fruit aromas of blackberry, fresh plum, and blueberry jam upfront made more complex by accents of toasty oak and vanilla caramel. With some air, an added layer of dried fig emerges too.
Medium-to-fuller bodied, the palate is plump with ripe fruits — the same dark fruits from the nose — with oak-born spice, vanilla, fig, and a subtle floral note. The tannins are relatively light, but there is some fresh acidity here to bring focus. The finish is long and tastes of spiced blueberry compote.
Some Colorado reds get pretty boozy, so the 13.6% alcohol is welcome here.
Bookcliff Vineyards 2022 Hawkridge Vineyard Malbec
Region: Grand Valley AVA (Colorado)
ABV: 13.6%
Rating: 90 pts
Price: $40* (Available Here)
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*sample provided by winery