Bullseye Painted Afterward
TASTING NOTES: “Our bold Malbec from the Moon Mountain District offers a compelling departure from conventional full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon. While Malbec is typically cultivated in this region as a blending component, as a single-varietal bottling it reveals an impressive powerful character brimming with concentrated, ripe dark fruit. With limited Malbec acreage in Sonoma County, our expression stands out in a category that remains largely uncharted in California.” (AbV 14.4%, pH 3.76, TA 5.2 g/L)
VARIETALS: 100% Malbec
BARRELS: 21 months, neutral French oak
PAIRS WITH: Aged Manchego, Gruyere, Smoked Gouda; Grilled skirt steak, herb-crusted rack of lamb; Roasted garlic potatoes, grilled portobello mushrooms; Grilled eggplant, stuffed bell peppers
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Pangloss, the winery’s name, borrowed from Dr. Pangloss, the eternally optimistic tutor in Voltaire’s Candide .
His whole teaching, which the book calls “metaphysico-theologo-cosmolonigology” (I did not make that up), is that everything exists for the best, and his proofs work backward with total confidence. Noses were made to wear spectacles, therefore we have spectacles. Legs were clearly designed for breeches, therefore we wear breeches. Pigs were made to be eaten, therefore we eat pork all year round. It’s the Texas sharpshooter fallacy, 1759 edition: fire first, paint the bullseye after.
My favorite is when he catches syphilis and defends it. He argues it was a necessary link in the chain, because the same trip to the New World that brought the disease to Europe also brought chocolate. So, in the best of all possible worlds, the price of cocoa is a rash. He then gets hanged, nearly dissected, and shows up in the next act, unbothered and still lecturing. English even kept the adjective, so “Panglossian” is a dictionary word for someone who sees the sunny side of a flooded basement. I want to know what he’d have made of a tax audit.
PRODUCER PODCAST: Pangloss Cellars Malbec (3:02)
