Finding Piattelli Reserve Malbec’s little bro

One thing you learn about having a favorite wine is that sooner or later supplies run out.  And one example of a casualty entering the “so scarce” category for a great value vino is Piattelli’s Grand Reserve Malbec.  Just when it seems that this one will remain in good supply, it’s gone.

Unfortunately for fans this wine, both Nello’s and the The Parlor are out of this selection right now.  So if you have tried and like this super Malbec, a serious search is in order.

Naturally there’s help in this department.  Online wine searches just keep getting better, especially when looking for local sources at convenient outlets.  Although BevMo’s website has offered reliable local search capabilities for the past few years, Total Wine has joined them by bringing their website up to the same level.

So as a test of this, go to Bevmo’s & Total Wine’s websites, select a location, and enter “Piattelli” as a search term.  In our case, Bevmo came up empty at all stores, but Total Wine showed stock.  Then looking at the details, Total Wine listed the Malbec as “Premium” not “Grand Reserve”.  Not exactly the same, but at $18.99, nicely rated on the producer’s website, and available for purchase now, why not pick one up and try it?

With shelf stock of the 2009 and/or 2010 vintage available at Total Wine in Tempe, the Premium worked quite well for an impromptu steak dinner.  In short, it was not quite as complex as the Grand Reserve, but the bouquet was very close with a less supple structure in the body. A character of ripe cherries, veggie greens, and tobacco are all there and the soft, slightly bitter, tannic finish worked great with the steak.

As for ongoing supply, who knows, but in this case “little brother” proved to be adequate and a good value for $18.99.  As for talking The Parlor into getting more bottles of the Grand Reserve back on the shelf, that’s a whole other issue.