This week’s wine is an exciting one because it’s the first canned wine that I’ve featured in the 52 Weeks of Wine Training Program! And a red canned wine at that! Canned wine is something that I’ve been passionate about over the past year because, though it may seem to be an emerging trend now, I believe that it will become very standard for most wineries to offer a canned option. If you’re interested in learning more about canned wine, I highly recommend that you check out my blog post, “The Facts About Canned Wine“, or listen to Episode 11 of my podcast, “A Taste of Audio”, available through iTunes, TuneIn or Spotify. Bottom line: the wine that goes into the can is the same wine that goes into the bottle.
The reason I chose to taste a canned Malbec is mostly because Malbec seems to be a dime a dozen – you can find it anywhere. So, to mix it up a bit, a canned Malbec offered a new experience for most wine drinkers who have tasted a traditional Malbec. Malbec is a varietal that became famous for production in Argentina and is easily found at affordable price points. Many people who enjoy fruit-forward, full-bodied, jammy red blends, tend to align their preferences with Malbec and Cab Sauv.
This 2017 Bodini canned Malbec from Argentina exemplified many of the traditional Malbec traits. To start, I always smell and taste a canned wine from the can. It is often recommended to open the can and allow a few minutes for the wine to breathe. When wines are canned, there is a small amount of liquid nitrogen in the top of the can to provide outward pressure against the can walls. If you immediately open a can of wine and smell or taste, it may seem a big funky. That’s the liquid nitrogen. An unfortunate aspect about canned wine is when drinking from the can, you miss the “look” portion of the tasting altogether and the “smell” portion is often highly muted since the opening of the can is so small. So, even though I know this to be true, I still make an attempt before pouring the wine into a glass. As expected, the “smell” portion of my tasting experience was really uneventful. I couldn’t identify any attributes through the small opening in the can. Therefore, I chose to pour the wine in a glass.
When enjoying this wine in a glass, you can get a full tasting experience. The color was a very deep purple, almost black, with the signature fuchsia rim that Malbecs are known for. The aromas of cherry, dark berries, a subtle licorice, sarsaparilla, and a light hint of oak. In the taste was prominent black cherry and dark berries with a slight continuation of that licorice in the aromas. As for my thoughts: I tasted this wine slightly chilled which really made this fuller body red wine refreshing. However, chilling the wine often mutes some aromas and flavors, so a balance between a cool temperature and enjoying the attributes, is always best.
I gave this canned wine a 3 out of 5 cork rating. You can find this Bodini canned Malbec priced between $5-6 per 250mL can.