Malbec and Chocolate

When I used to work as a Caterer and Chef, one of the things that I looked for were recipes that took a small amount of time, few ingredients, and had a great presentation value. Around this time of year I did a lot of work with chocolate- fondue set-ups, individual desserts and small gift lots of rich desserts. And truffles, lots of truffles- which are much easier that you'd think to do. They take some hand work, and are monotonous in huge batches, though in small batches are simple and quick to do.

Ghirardelli Dark Citrus Truffles:
Hands on time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 day

Ghirardelli Intense Dark "Citrus Sunset" 3.5 oz chocolate bar
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1-tablespoon butter (may be either salted or unsalted)

1. Measure butter, and whipping cream into microwave safe bowl
2. Microwave butter/cream mixture until butter is just barely melted, and remove bowl from microwave-about one minute
3. Break six of the eight squares of chocolate into the butter/cream mixture, reserving two pieces for coating
4. Stir butter/cream/chocolate mixture until the chocolate has barely melted in- this mixture is called ganache
5. Refrigerate your ganache overnight
6. Working quickly- With a tablespoon scoop out tablespoon sized chunks of ganache and roll them into balls, and place on a small plate
7. Freeze the ganache balls for ½ hour
8. Place the two reserved squares of chocolate onto a perfectly dry microwave safe bowl
9. Microwave chocolate squares in 10 second intervals until it looks shiny and soft but not yet runny- this is your tempered chocolate coating
10. Using two spoons roll a ganache ball in chocolate coating, and place on a plate that has been covered in waxed paper- work quickly and one at a time, if necessary chocolate coating can be put back in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to get it smooth again
11. Chill truffles for at least two hours, and serve
Note: You can substitute another gourmet chocolate bar in for the "Citrus Sunset" Bar above to get a differently flavored truffle.

Dark chocolate truffles work well with malbecs, some of my favorite malbecs and -based blends are:

Catena Alta Argentina $60
Exotic dark fruit and mint aromas, loads of spice in the nose and on the palate too. Black raspberry, currant and bittersweet chocolate flavors. Hints of smoke and sumac powder.
Ben Marco "Expressivo" Argentina $30
A rich and expressive Malbec based blend- has some tannat, syrah, cabernet and bonarda. Limited quantities made- age for four to six years or decant. Also, the regular Ben Marco malbec around $18 is very good, particularly the 2004 if you can find it.
Lo Tengo Argentina $10
A classic fruit forward malbec with pepper and spice on the finish, lives up to the hologram label. A second label for Bodega Norton, their Malbec Reserva is also worth seeking out at $15.
Montes Classic Series Chile $10
Chilean Malbec- surprisingly good, but then again it's Montes. Rich and full in the mouth, and a bittersweet chocolate laced finish.
Desolation Flats California, USA $7
Fun and fruity- loads of boysenberry and blackberry with a moderate amount of spices. Now widely available, but a fun find. Recognizable by the Sheriff’s Badge shaped label.