Substance Wines 2006 Malbec

*Bottle #9: Wines of Substance 2006 Walla Walla Valley Malbec

*Price: $18

*Running Tab: $113

I have a fiscally-irresponsible habit of purchasing many Seattle-area publications and never reading them. Well, in this slightly rainy month of April, Seattle Magazine released a food and wine award issue and I was all over the inside of that cover. I flipped through the pages, recognizing a lot of local labels and winemakers' names when I stumbled upon something of "substance."

The final and probably oddball award ("Coolest Wine Label") was given to Waters Winery and Gramercy Cellars' joint configuration, Substance Wines. The label was a periodic element symbol, allotted for more than two dozen different varietals from Walla Walla Valley in Washington. Voila - www.winesofsubstance.com. 

A pretty awesome idea (and an innovative, interactive Web site) so I thought footing the $18 bill would be worth it to keep the "cool" bottle alone. I chose Mb - the 2006 Malbec. 

Considering this was still a young wine and it is a brand new release, it's sold old (to stores) with their Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon still in stock and a '07 Pinot Gris and Chardonnay to follow later this year. I felt special to get my mitts on the original limited vintage. 

This Bordeaux-style varietal was attacked by one "old-world" winery (Waters) and one "cutting edge" cellar (Gramercy) to give it its flair. I haven't quite been able to put my finger on what Bordeaux-style wines are supposed to smell and taste like, but this Malbec threw me for a loop.

My experience with Malbecs have been hit or miss - understandable because the style and quality of this grape depends on its origin (Argentinean Malbec vs. Californian). For some reason, I thought they were comparable in characteristics to a Syrah but not here. With Syrahs for me, I get a hefty mouth-full of spices, peppers and bacon or tobacco. The Malbec had none of the sorts (or anything like a Syrah) but had more of a fruit-forward effect than the Chiquita Banana Lady.

Substance brought deep plum color with a further plum aroma and topping it off with the most sharp fruit flavor as plum. Whodathunk. Beyond the fruit, there were soft and ample tannins, giving the wine a complexity and edge so that it wasn't merely grape juice.

I liked this wine, it just didn't send me skipping over the hills, hand-in-hand, to devote the rest of my life to it.

Score: 6.5 .