Drinking the 2002 Pascual Toso Magdalena
Day 2 of Operation Relaxation: Southern California began well. We woke up late, had a terrific lunch, took a walk through a citrus orchard where the lemons and oranges are massive and ripe, and then headed back to the spa for a 90-minute massage in a pagoda overlooking the orchard and the hills beyond.
And then we drove to Palm Desert so I could check out LA Wine Company again.
The LA Wine Company is a fabulous wine store, full of seemingly random bottles that actually fit into one specific organizational scheme: the employees only stock what they enjoy drinking. At least, that’s my take on the place. As soon as I walked into the store, Patrick recognized me from 6 months earlier. Now that’s high-quality service! He led me around and talked about everything that was different since my last visit, while my very patient wife patiently waited in the car. She’s very patient.
I ended up buying two bottles of wine: a 2002 Pascual Toso “Magdalena,” which is an Argentinian blockbuster Malbec made in partnership with Paul Hobbs, and a 2005 Tandem Silver Pines Pinot Noir, made by Greg LaFollette. Patrick insisted that I try the Tandem, and his choices have been excellent before, so I agreed. The Pascual Toso wine comes in a metallic suitcase package that is unique and quite exciting to open. The wine is apparently pretty good too. So I gave that one a try; I remembered seeing it 6 months earlier, actually.
The Pascual Toso winery in the Mendoza region of Argentina produces some interesting wines. The Web site does not list the Magdalena release, which is a bit strange. They do list lots of other releases, including reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec releases. I guess the Magdalena is quite special; I don’t even see a photo of the incredibly elaborate packaging. Trust me when I say this wine sells itself well in the case.
The Magdalena features a 95% Malbec, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon blend, which is quite interesting since the Cabernet Sauvignon essentially acts as a very minor player in the bottle. How does it all work together then? Here are my notes:
- Aroma: Dark chocolate, mint, some mild boysenberry and blackberry as well. Evolved into a very reserved fruity bouquet without the chocolate and mint, but started out with an incredibly strong chocolate mint aroma (almost like chocolate mint tea).
- Flavor: Seriously dark chocolate with some fruit undercurrents; ultimately this wine opened up into a slightly fruity/jammy blackberry and blueberry palate with some mild tannic and acidic activity.
- General impression: Not quite worth the price of admission, but clearly a wine that will improve over time. Even with a 2002, this wine needs another several years in the cellar.
Here are some other tasting notes on the 2002 Pascual Toso Magdalena. Overall, for $85 this wine was too expensive to drink today. Perhaps in a few years, the cost will be justified, but I didn’t taste the lengthy finish that you would expect such a wine to possess. I am glad I tried this wine, though, as I do like other Paul Hobbs wines, such as El Felice.