One of the problems with Malbec over the past couple years: ubiquity. Read: this stuff is everywhere. And once it’s everywhere, everyone gets into the action, which can be a good and bad thing.

Behold, in all its glory, the Toca Diamonte 2011 Malbec. “En Union Y Libertad” is what it says on the bottle, which, loosely translated, pretty much says “five bucks.”

This wine – available only at Aldi in the US – offers a little from both categories. GOOD: it’s actually a decent value (actually not $5, but $4.99 last we checked). BAD: It does taste like an inexpensive Malbec.

Toca Diamonte 2011 Malbec Review:

Taste

Fruit. A little of that peppery nose you’d expect from a Malbec. Not a “fruit bomb,” though. Again, that’s both good and bad. This can’t really fall into any category other than “table wine.”

Profile

Medium alcohol content – 12.5%. All Malbec. Argentina – where, last we heard, they still have to irrigate.

Value

You will hear people say “for five bucks, how can you go wrong?” Take that for what it’s worth – this is a table wine, could be an okay house wine, but is going to taste like you spent five bucks on it.

Metasip Grade: B-

Have you had the Toca Diamonte 2011 Malbec?

Let us know below if you had this wine – give it a rating of 1 to 5 stars.

I was hopeful. I hoped that there being more than a little Malbec in this puppy would make it rock and/or roll.

The reality, though, is that it was a little bit above average, but barely so.

Bonarda might have something to do with its being a little above average – this is a grape that COULD BE THE NEXT MALBEC. (I had to shout that because, well, it sounds exotic, doesn’t it? Bonarda! No…BONARDA!)

Anywho, onto the breakdown:

Bodega Elena 2010 Red Blend Review

Taste:

Malbec plus Syrah plus Bonarda. If you’re not taken with Malbec – and a few tasters we met thought that it’s too…peppery? Fruity? Spicy? Those are all fair assessments, and the Bonarda grape has a tendency to “cut” the Malbec down to size.

In other words – no “fruit bomb” here. So if you’re into blends that taste like blends – might not be a bad thing to take a flier on.

Profile:

62/21/17 – Malbec/Syrah/Bonarda. (Honestly made me want to hunt down a straight Bonarda; more to come on that quest down the road.)

Value:

Boom! This is where it scores above-average for sho. We got our bottle for $6.99. It didn’t knock our socks off – but it was under $10 and probably drank like about $10.

Metasip Grade: B-

But, have YOU tried it? What do YOU think?