Chris BerryFounder, Wine Underdogs — chasing the world’s overlooked grapesIf you love Malbec, you love one of two things about it: the inky depth or the soft, juicy fruit. Alicante Bouschet gives you the depth, darker than Malbec itself. Teroldego gives you the juicy fruit, smooth and immediate. Touriga Nacional gives you the dark fruit with more structure and perfume, for the night you want a step up. None of them will taste like the last bottle you had.
The short answer
- Alicante Bouschet (Portugal): black fruit, dark chocolate and black pepper. The most natural Malbec swap there is.
- Teroldego (Italy): black cherry, blackberry and a wild-herb edge. Malbec's juiciness, from the Alps.
- Touriga Nacional (Portugal): blackberry, violet and bergamot. Malbec's dark fruit with more backbone.
Which half of Malbec do you miss?
Malbec won the world over for good reason: deep purple in the glass, black plum and blueberry, velvety tannins that go down smooth. The trouble with a wine everyone loves is that it stops surprising you. So "like Malbec" is really two requests. If you want the depth, the colour and the plush dark fruit, you want the inkiest grape you can find. If you want the juiciness, the mouthfilling rush of ripe fruit with soft tannin, you want something smooth and immediate.
| Grape | Gives you | Tannin |
|---|---|---|
| Alicante Bouschet | Inky depth | High |
| Teroldego | Juicy fruit | Medium |
| Touriga Nacional | Dark fruit, structure | High |
Alicante Bouschet: the depth, darker still
Alentejo, Portugal · full body · ah-lee-KAHN-teh boo-SHAY
This is the grape the whole site is built on. Bred in France and made famous in Portugal's Alentejo, Alicante Bouschet is a teinturier: its flesh is red, not just its skin. That makes some of the darkest, most saturated wines in existence, black-fruited and full-bodied with a faintly savory edge.
Versus Malbec: if you love Malbec for sheer depth of colour and plush dark fruit, this is where to start. It's the grape our own guide compares to a brooding, inky Malbec.
The catch: it's firmer than Malbec. The tannin sits higher, so the velvet you're used to comes with more grip.
Look for: bottles from Portugal's Alentejo, from a producer your shop stands behind, and ask them by name.
Read the Alicante Bouschet deep dive
Teroldego: the juicy half, from the mountains
Trentino, Italy · medium tannin · teh-ROL-deh-goh
If your favourite thing about Malbec is the juiciness, Teroldego from the Italian Alps is uncanny. Deeply coloured and full of black cherry and blackberry, it drinks smooth and immediate, with a note of tar and wild herb underneath.
Versus Malbec: it's the high-altitude cousin of everything you like about a good Malbec, a little more elegant and a little fresher.
The catch: there's a savory, tarry edge and more acid than a plush Malbec carries. If you want pure soft fruit and nothing else, it'll read as brisker than you expected.
Look for: a producer your shop stands behind, and ask them by name.
Touriga Nacional: Malbec with a backbone
Douro & Dão, Portugal · full body, firm tannin · too-REE-gah nah-see-oh-NAHL
Portugal's flagship red grape, long the backbone of Port and now increasingly bottled dry, gives you Malbec's dark fruit with an extra dimension. Think blackberry and violet over a savory frame, with bergamot and a touch of mint.
Versus Malbec: it's the pick for the Malbec drinker who's ready for a little more structure and perfume in the glass.
The catch: the frame is slightly grippy. If smooth is the whole point for you, start with Teroldego instead.
Look for: a producer your shop stands behind, and ask them by name.
Read the Touriga Nacional deep dive
Where to buy
US availability varies by grape and by shop. The two Portuguese picks belong in a good Portuguese section; Teroldego usually sits with northern Italy, if the shop carries it at all, and an online order is the fallback. I haven't confirmed a specific bottle in stock online this month, so I'm not linking one. Take the grape names above to your local shop and ask what they'd pour.
One thing I owe you plainly: I haven't scored these bottles side by side yet. When I have, the scores go here, and this guide gets shorter.
Just getting into the overlooked grapes? Join the Pack, one overlooked wine at a time. Or see the whole approach in Order This Instead.
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Every wine fact here comes from the grape guides on Wine Underdogs. Ben has never opened a bottle, and neither does this game. For readers 21 and over.
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