'Drinking' Malbec suggestions?

[quiet1]

By drinking I mean something that's pleasant to sip alone - I find some wines really are happier with a food pairing of some kind to help with the level of acidity or otherwise finish out the flavor, but this time I'm looking for something that stands alone nicely.

My mother wants to start drinking more red wine for health reasons, and apparently Melbac is particularly good for her needs. (Something about the altitude and the influence that has on the nutritional content.) Unfortunately I don't drink a lot and so I'm not sure what to suggest for her. I have had a Melbac that was similar to what I think she wants, but naturally I can't remember what the heck it was. So I'm hoping folks have suggestions that I can go looking for.

Price-wise it needs to be something affordable with drinking it regularly in mind - maybe $10-$15 a bottle? (It's been so long since I properly shopped for wine I can't remember if that's a reasonable price these days or not!) And also I'm in Pennsylvania, so there may be issues getting some wines since we only have the state stores here and while they do pretty well, there are some things they just don't have. So if you have more than one suggestion that's even better since hopefully I'll be able to find at least one.

(I'm going to sneak in a wine storage question, too - she's really the only one who will be drinking it, do those hand pump vacuum wine sealers actually work well enough to be worth getting her one as a gift? She's planning on a single glass a day, so once opened she will want to store the bottle in the fridge while she finishes it.)

[Dave Hatfield]

I'm not sure where you're located so don't know how easy or difficult finding wines from the Gaillac region of France may be.

Most of the reds from this region are mostly malbec. Some nearly 100% others with some other varieties blended in, but usually in small quantities.

The other region with Malbec as a predominant grape is Cahors. These may be easier to find outside of France than the Gaillac.

Good luck!

[Lisa Shock]

Most of those pumps are a joke, the pump isn't powerful enough to do much. If you already own a FoodSaver, you can get special bottle sealers for it. The pump in the FoodSaver is a lot more powerful than those wine pumps.

The can of gas is the better option. It displaces all the air in the bottle. The can feels like it's nothing, but that's because the gas is very light.

Terrazas de Los Andes and Alamos are both decent lower priced Malbecs. If you can find the Layer Cake Malbec release, get that. For the price range, I always enjoy Layer Cake wines.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Tarapaca Gran Reserva is a really yummy standalone Malbec; I'll second Alamos as well.

And now the moment of truth - ice cubes, or no ice cubes?

[kayswv]

When you think Malbec, you usually think of inexpensive wines with solid fruit notes but a substantive body that can match up to bold meals. The Ruta 22 Malbec 2011 is all of these. First, its price is an incredible value for the quality of this wine. It's fruity enough to be appealing and approachable, but a nicely dry finish creates an unexpected and delightful balance with our favorite early-Fall foods.

Wine Spectator gave this vintage an 87, and it just won the Bronze at the Dallas Wine Competition. It is priced around $11.

Kay