In the spectrum of the La La Land labels, this has to qualify as the most reserved, most serious….

“Who’s going to give me a ride to the after-show? ME!”

La La Land Malbec, Murray Darling, 2015

Not a huge amount of Malbec as a single varietal around, and I’d wager that this would be Australia’s cheapest by RRP. Malbec is certainly gaining popularity though, (See what the excellent crew at Bottle Shop Concepts do for World Malbec Day), with substantial plantings in WA, Clare and Langhorne Creek, and now it seems the Murray Darling

Smells like a Gentleman’s club (not that kind! Filth!) with sweet pipe tobacco, fresh leather chesterfield lounges, tea-chest spice in the eaves of the room (maybe brought back from an expedition to far east for which some hyphen surname received a knighthood), cough syrup (without the overt alcohol)….and a raw serve of meaty roast beef. Easier on the palate than the nose suggests, maybe just scraping into full body territory. Tannins have a little furry kick, before juicy cherry lingers. My favourite of the La La Lands….potentially as the most versatile.

RRP: $16

Alc: 13.5%

Wine sample courtesy of La La Land wines