It can be easy to get jaded sampling malbec, as there often is a numbing sameness to this popular variety. But then comes a revelation such as the Ruta 22 Malbec 2008 ($14), which has a richness and heartiness that so many malbecs lack. Turns out that it's from Patagonia rather than the usual source, Mendoza, and thus it's particularly suited for an "if it grows together, it goes together" paring with a slab of grilled beef.
BILL WARD
