Tom Gilbey, a charming wine guru and social media connoisseur, has taken to TikTok to reveal the quintessential red wine pairing for a scrumptious steak dinner.
A former wine merchant with a jovial online presence and some 145,000 followers, he affectionately refers to his chosen beverage as “steak juice”.
Deliberating between the robust flavours of French and Argentinian bottles, Tom amusingly mused, “I’m shopping for Malbec but do I want a French one or do I want an Argentinian one?”, showing his quest for a red that’s both “showy and glowy.”
In a delightful TikTok video that’s both enlightening and engaging, the wine wizard gives viewers a sip-sized education, narrating a tale about each region’s vino.
With his tasting adventure underway, he said, “Steak is pretty simple meat, pretty delicious meat and I want the wine to really, really make it shine.”
Kicking off his review with the French ‘Le Grand Retour’ Malbec 2020 priced at £12.99 a bottle from Majestic (or £9.99 a bottle when you ‘mix six’), he transports us to Cahors nestled between Bordeaux and Toulouse in South West France, lauded as the birthplace of Malbec, where this grape varietal has been nurtured for bygone years.
Inhaling deeply, he validates, “It definitely smells like a Malbec, it’s got that dark black plum fruit smell,” further enriching his audience’s vinicultural enlightenment, reports Wales Online.
In pursuit of a “juicer” experience, he reaches for an Argentinian wine to satisfy his palate.
Hailing from Mendoza, Tom informs us that the region has been cultivating the Malbec grape for “a long, long time – but maybe a thousand years less than the French.”
He characterises the Pascual Toso Limited Edition Malbec 2020 (£15.50 from Soho Wine) as offering “a little bit more ripeness here” and being “a little bit more fleshy”.
After taking a gratifying gulp of the Argentinian concoction, he proclaims: “It’s taken all of the show from the French bottle and added a great big dollop of glow. It is a rich, juicy, fat blackberry bomb that I want to jump into bed with right now.”
