Cicchitti Malbec-Cab Blend

For those that enjoy a bit of depth in their Malbec, you may enjoy the Cicchitti Malbec-Cabernet blend. This wine has the unique flavors of malbec ( a touch of mint, nice berry structure and sweetness) with the increased depth from Cab. The tobacco flavor really fits nicely with the malbec flavors and leads to a nice, drinkable wine today. I paired this with a puerco cubano (cuban pork) from Cascal Restaurant (http://www.cascalrestaurant.com/index.asp) combined with an awesome set of sides, cuban black beans with rice and mashed sweet potato-plantain mixtures. Very sweet!  Overall, I would suggest pairing the Cicchitti with meats the bring out the excellent flavors from the cab (black cherry and tobacco). Pork seemed to be an excellent match, as the mint and tobacco combined together with the underlying spice in the wine to form a nice bouquet in the mouth. Overall, I rate this wine 88+ points.