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ARGENTINEAN WINES
 Not many Americans think of Argentina as a large wine
producing country, but it has a very long history of making "vino" and there are
nearly half a million acres of vineyards down there!
While Chilean wines have become popular here, largely due to low prices, Argentina remains
relatively unknown. This anonymity means, at least for the time being, some fertile
grounds for value-conscious consumers.
The first vines went into Argentina's soil, cuttings being brought from Spain, around the
middle of the 1500s. An influx of Italian and Spanish helped promote the growth of
vineyards in Argentina. In 1853 the first agricultural school was set up and its
director, a Frenchman, introduced French grape varieties and new viticultural techniques.
A real turning point was in the 1880s, seeing the construction of waterways,
bringing much-needed water to the deserts of Argentina and allowing for agriculture in
previously arid lands.
There are four major wine regions in Argentina: Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja (nothing to do
with Spain's region of the same name) and Rio Negro. By far the most important, at
least presently, is Mendoza. This region produces something like 70% of the wine in
Argentina.
There has been much foreign investment in Argentina. You'll find
some wineries owned by British, French, Chilean, Swiss, Dutch, Spanish and
Portuguese firms. This is a good sign, as it helps open the doors to new
techniques, as well as opening the minds of local winemakers.
We don't have very many Argentinean wines. The wines we do stock are quite good and
represent some good values. Ten dollars goes much farther in Argentina than in
California! For ten bucks you can stop by and take home a bottle of wine. In
the Napa Valley, ten dollars might get you in the front door at some winery and an ounce
of somebody's precious Cabernet Sauvignon!
Now we are seeing a wave of expensive, supposedly deluxe wines from many
producers. We have tasted quite a number of these and have to admit many
wines are rather nice. But we ask ourselves if we would pay $40-$50 for
these wines and most of the time the answer is "no."
Perhaps the most interesting and expensive wine we've tasted is called
"Cheval des Andes" and is made under the watchful eyes of the Bordeaux
firm of Château Cheval Blanc. Their wine is costly but it is one which
delivers all it promises and a more. The single vineyard Trapiche wines
are quite good and the Melipal winery is offering some serious bottles at
sensible prices.
Some Argentinean wines we like:
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MASI
 You may be
wondering how someone would use the name of a famous Veronese vintner for
wine produced in Argentina.
It's not "someone," but the same Italian family, the Boscaini clan
who make some splendid Amarone and Valpolicella wines.
Rather than produce the same old, same old, they have brought the brilliant
notion of combining New World and Old World winemaking to create something
totally unique.
Of course, Argentina is famed for its Malbec wines. And the Masi name
is famous for Amarone, a red wine made of grapes that are dried to intensify the
resulting wine. Masi, further, came up with a process which is called
"ripasso," where they incorporate the skins of the Amarone back into a
tank of Valpolicella wine. That wine is called "Campofiorin" and
it's a good example of this ripasso technique. Masi copyrighted the term
"ripasso" and other Venetian vintners who make a similar wine are
obliged to pay a royalty if they use that term on their labels.
Masi is making a very interesting wine called Passo Doble. This is an
unusual process. The Malbec is fermented in stainless steel tanks and as
it's finishing its fermentation, they add some lightly dried Corvina grapes
(this is a variety commonly used in the Veneto for Valpolicella) and the
fermentation proceeds for an extended time. The resulting wine is then
matured for a bit less than a year in small oak barrels, more for development
than to give it wood fragrances or flavors.
We have the 2009 in the shop presently. It is not a wine for those looking
for the big, flashy, muscular Malbec wine that's popular with wine
critics. This is a more elegant wine and it's a bit subtle if you're
looking for "gobs of fruit" or a forest full of oak.
We like the red fruits, baked cherries and hint of cola on the nose and
palate. The wine is medium-bodied and not particularly tannic or
aggressive. You can pair it with a range of foods, from a savory pork
roast to tomato-sauced pastas to grilled or roasted red meats.
- Currently in stock: MASI 2009 "Passo Doble" $18.99
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MENDEL
 Virtually
everybody whom we know who have visited Argentina have spoken glowingly of
the Mendel wines.
It's a smallish venture with a well-regarded winemaker who's had connections
to France's Bordeaux region and then was involved in the first bottlings of
Cheval des Andes.
Roberto de la Mota's father was a winemaking pioneer in Argentina and
Roberto is a chip off the old block.
With his partner Anabelle Sielecki, de la Mota has old vineyards to draw
from. Winemaking is traditional and minimalist in terms of cellar
treatments (no filtering, for example)...The Malbec is matured in small French
oak, some of the wood being brand new.
The 2008 is a medium-bodied Malbec, showing some dark fruit notes and a
woodsy/cedary tone from the oak. The tannins are modest, so drinking
this now is a good idea. It may cellar well for a few more years, but
we view it as "immediately drinkable."
The name Mendel? It's Anabelle's father's first name.-
- Currently in stock: 2008 MENDEL Malbec (List $30) SALE $25.99
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BODEGA
VISTALBA (Carlos Pulenta): TOMERO
One of the top names in Argentina is that of wine "baron"
Carlos Pulenta. His family has been growing grapes in the Mendoza
region for several decades and he was at the helm of the Salentein project
for a number of years before launching his own wines under the Vistalba
brand.
Another brand in the Pulenta portfolio is the Tomero label.
We were knocked out by a Petit Verdot of this label. It's 100%
varietal and was matured in small French oak barrels for 19
months.
The wine is from the 2008 harvest. Lots of red and black fruit notes
with a mild clove/spice character. It's quite drinkable now and one of
the very few Petit Verdot wines we've found to be "complete" and
able to stand on its own two legs. Most Petit Verdot wines taste to us
like "blending components." That is, you can see how the
wine would enhance or impact a Bordeaux-styled blend, but it doesn't have
sufficient character to really stand on its own. This wine, however, does
and to its credit.-
- Currently in stock: 2008 TOMERO Mendoza PETIT VERDOT $25.99
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ALTOS LA HORMIGAS
 This
brand started as a result of some vacationing Italian winemakers finding
they liked some of the wines they tasted of the Malbec grape.
In 1997 a group of Italiani started this brand and it's been hit or
miss ever since. Early vintages were quite the hit, but over the years
we've found the wine to vary dramatically.
The entry level bottling was really good and well-priced, but lately that
wine seems to be made to sell inexpensively and the quality has diminished
in our view.-
- We found the 2008 Reserva to be quite good (once again) and and it's a
good follow-up to the splendid 2007. This is encouraging and the wine
sells for a reasonable price, too.
The wine comes from fairly low-yielding vineyards and it's entirely
Malbec.
The juice has a fairly long period of skin contact before going into French
oak for its malolactic fermentation. Winemakers claim this helps 'fix'
the dark color of the wine (ML in small oak).
The wine spends more than a year in wood and is fairly deep in color and
shows a nice plummy, dark fruit character. We like the mildly woodsy,
cedary notes from the French oak. It's quite drinkable now and is not
a wine for cellaring, so don't buy cases of this in hopes of it turning into
some enological treasure. It's ready to drink now.
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- Currently in stock: 2008 ALTOS LAS HORMIGAS Mendoza MALBEC $23.99
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COLONIA LAS LIEBRES
 What
with so many Italian vintners setting up shop in Argentina, it should be no
surprise to find some Italian grape varieties being cultivated...
And so we have this magnificent Colonia Las Liebres wine, made from a
northern Italian grape called Bonarda.
This brand is an off-shoot of the Altos Las Hormigas brand and we like it a
hare better than the basic Malbec of the Ants' label.-
- Bonarda is a medium-bodied red...not heavy or concentrated. It has
some red fruit aromas and flavors and with the 2009 vintage, we find a nice
hint of a spice tone. Nicely berryish and a delight.
This is best served at cool cellar temp. Easy to drink with white
meats, red meats, track meets or no meats at all.
We had a full display of this at one point and it's sold well. Ellen
describes it as a "receding hare line" and it has its rabbit fans.
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- Currently in stock: 2011 COLONIA LAS LIEBRES Bonarda $8.99
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LA MADRID
 The
name Lamadrid doesn't refer to a Spanish wine, nor is the some fantasy
name. It's the name of a fellow who, when he was a kid, was able to
immigrate from Cuba to Miami, Florida.
Guillermo Garcia Lamadrid has been in the food importing and distributing
business, dealing primarily in Puerto Rico and Central/South America.
Now he aspires to both fame and fortune and so he's launched a little
vineyard and winemaking project.
It's situated in Agrelo, a smallish wine area a bit south of the city of
Mendoza. The place is run by Hector Durigutti, a well-respected
winemaker.
We tasted a remarkably good Bonarda, a wine styled along the lines of
Malbec from Argentina.
The vines were planted in 1973 and the vineyard is hand-harvested and
cropped to fairly low yields to intensify the character. They even
bleed off a bit of juice to further concentrate the character of this
wine. The juice is cold-soaked as they attempt to squeeze every drop
of character out of those grapes. After a long period of skin
contact, the wine is matured in French oak, half the barrels being brand
new. Unfined and unfiltered, too.
We like the woodsy, cedary bouquet from the oak and there's a fairly
complex red fruit aspect to the Bonarda. It's a medium-full bodied
wine, close to the weight of a good Malbec.
We find it to be quite drinkable at this stage and don't see it developing
additional complexity with cellaring, so drink up.
They only made 1300 cases...
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Currently in stock: 2009 LAMADRID BONARDA Reserva
$17.99
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- TRAPICHE
 Trapiche is
a very large Argentinean winery, still family owned and operated. Having made such
"normal" quality wines for years, it's nice to know they are striving to improve
their quality. They've hired some foreign help in order to improve their viticulture
as well as their cellar practices. We've got a rather pleasant, but simple,
Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from Trapiche.
We no longer see their Medalla Real or Fond de Cave wines. They
introduced a label called Broquel to replace the Fond de Cave and none of
our South American customers know this label. We've tasted these and
they're nice, but we already have a store chock-full-of-wine.
 We
have now tasted a number of their single-vineyard Malbec wines and these are
top-notch, in general.
In particular, my favorite of those arriving in San Francisco currently is
the 2007 Sarmiento bottling.
This vineyard was planted fairly recently...the vines are less than 15 years
old! The wine is 100% varietal and it's matured in new French oak. I found
this bottling to be nicely intense, with dark berry, black fruit aromas and
flavors along with a lovely woodsy fragrance and flavor. It is quite
drinkable now and very showy. I'd say it's one of the few
premium-priced Malbecs to be worthy of the tariff.
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- Currently available: TRAPICHE Chardonnay $7.99
TRAPICHE Cabernet Sauvignon $6.99
TRAPICHE 2007 "Domingo F. Sarmiento" MALBEC SALE Sold Out
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- AMANCAYA
 This
is the work of two "royal" wine families. From Argentina,
there's the Catena clan. From France, there's the (Lafite) Rothschild
family.
They began formulating this project in the late 1990s and vinified the first
batch of wine from the 2000 harvest.
There's a label called "Caro," and it's the main bottling, a
Malbec-based blend.
The Amancaya wine is a blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon which carries
a fairly sensible price tag. The 2008 is currently in stock, a wine
which shows some dark fruit aromas and a faintly woodsy bouquet (20% new
oak). It's drinkable now and not especially cellar-worthy, so enjoying
this in the next year or two is ideal.
- Currently in stock: 2008 AMANCAYA Malbec/Cab blend Sold
Out
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MIL PIEDRAS
A former Trapiche winemaker is at the helm of this little brand.
The wine sells for ten bucks and it's a nice little Malbec that's made for
immediate consumption. The color is fairly dark and the wine shows a
hint of a woodsy note along with some blackberry fruit.
Currently in stock: 2010 MIL PIEDRAS Malbec $9.99
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ALTOCEDRO
 The
owner of this small estate is of Lebanese heritage, explaining the choice of
a winery name with a reference to cedar. The country's flag depicts a
cedar tree and it's a symbol of pride amongst Lebanese.
Karim Mussi Saffie has a few acres in the La Consulta region of the
Mendoza appellation. He's a fan of sustainable agricultural practices
and he restricts the yields in his vineyards in an effort to produce wines
of balance and intensity.
We found his 2008 Reserva bottling of Malbec to be a very good wine.
It's from a couple of old vineyard parcels, one plot being 67 years of age
and the other is 49 years old. The wine was matured for 15 months in
French oak and bottled without filtration.
This is fairly dark in color, with a lovely black fruit fragrance and a hint
of oak. It's medium to full bodied and only mildly tannic.
Paired with red meats, this will be rather supple and silky on the
palate.
Their normal bottling of 2010 Malbec is rather nice, too. A portion of
the wine is matured in wood and it's a good Malbec with some dark fruit and
faint oak notes. The tannins are low, so it's a drink-it-now kind of
red wine.
Currently in stock: 2008 ALTOCEDRO Reserva Malbec $33.99
2010 ALTOCEDRO Malbec $13.99-
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BODEGAS WEINERT
 The
Weinert family started this estate in the mid-1970s and it's been a
highly-regarded winery since its first wines were released.
They've not gained much traction in the U.S. market as they routinely change
importers every couple of years.
The wines are more a traditional style, rather than being the big, fruit and
oak bombs which are so popular today. This is "old fashioned"
winemaking and represents an adherence to tradition.
We currently have a blended red called "Cavas de Weinert," a blend
of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec. The 2004 vintage is
available and it's a medium-bodied red wine. Oak is not a major part
of this wine and it shows dusty notes and a bit of red fruit. The
tannins are modest, so this may be consumed now or held for several years.
Currently in stock: 2004 Cavas de Weinert $24.99 -
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- CHEVAL DES ANDES
 The
"Cheval" here is a reference to the famous Bordeaux estate in St.
Emilion called "Cheval Blanc."
The Louis Vuitton-Moet Hennessy group owns a sparkling wine facility in
Argentina and a table wine place called Terrazas des Andes. Pierre
Lurton, who's the director at Château d'Yquem and Cheval Blanc, was
intrigued by the potential for good wine in Argentina, so he's teamed with a
local enologist and they've embarked on a project of truly deluxe quality
red wine.
We're skeptical about many of these collaborative endeavors, finding most to
be merely a way to gussy up some decent wine with an association of famous
wine people in hopes consumers will fork over a king's ransom. Look at
the Mondavi's "Luce" project in Tuscany or Antinori's Washington
State "Col Solare" wine for examples of this.
But after tasting the 2002 Cheval des Andes in blind-tastings and, even better,
with dinner, we can say this wine delivers!
The 2006 is an elegant and refined bottle. It's drinkable now and we
expect it will blossom and develop additionally with time.
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Currently in stock: 2006 Cheval des Andes SALE $69.99
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- NAVARRO CORREAS
 Regarded as a producer of premium and special quality wines, this winery launched a
special artist label series for its "Coleccion Privada" Cabernet
Sauvignon. The wine used to come in a curious frosted black
bottle. They've changed it to a normal bottle (see the depiction to
the left).
The wine, from the 2007 vintage, is a medium-bodied,
berryish Cabernet with a touch of cedary oak. It's not particularly
complex, but it is nice with some grilled red meats.
- Currently available: 2007 Navarro Correas Cabernet $13.49
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- CATENA (Bodegas Esmeralda)
 The Catena family came to Argentina from Italy and planted their first vineyards around
the turn of the 20th century. They make boat-loads of wines, but it was only after
one of the younger generations of Catena's came to study at U.C. Davis in California that
things got to a serious level of international quality. They hired Paul Hobbs, who
used to be at the University of Wine at Robert Mondavi (the Oakville campus) and then at
Simi.
Hobbs helped elevate the quality and brought a more international style (like
new oak barrels) and an emphasis on starting with higher quality grapes. The first
Catena-labeled Chardonnay and Cabernet wines were extraordinary. My impression is
that they've either hit a bump in the road or have focused on attracting a market
different from the original plan.
Chardonnay the past couple of years seem slightly
sweet. The wine we have in the shop presently is big, oaky and buttery, but
with a touch of sweetness. The local importer claims the sweetness is
due to a wild yeast fermentation. Hard to believe.
And Mr. Hobbs
is no longer affiliated with Catena.
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CATENA "Alta" CHARDONNAY
This is their no-holds-barred Chardonnay. It's entirely
barrel-fermented using native yeasts and it undergoes a full malolactic fermentation,
making it quite buttery and creamy. It's as showy a Chardonnay as we have
seen from Argentina. It is matured in a high percentage of new oak, giving
it a toasty character and it spends a fair bit of time on the lees, adding
additional smokiness.
2008 CHARDONNAY
Creamy, mildly buttery and lightly vanillin, the 2008 comes from several
vineyard sites. The wine offers elements familiar to those who drink
California Chardonnays, as it shows some tropical fruit aromas along with appley
tones and a touch of minerality. It does not strike me as bone dry, but
perhaps low acidity gives one this impression.
2010 MALBEC
 Some
earlier vintages struck as as being rather meaty and leathery on the nose and
palate. This new vintage seems brighter, cleaner and showing more
blackberry and dark fruit tones.
We like it quite a bit, as it's a good example of Malbec. You can even
compare it to some lovely French wines from the region of Cahors, a European
bastion of Malbec.
The wine was matured in French and American oak, mostly the former. The
wood is merely a spice tone in this wine. If you're firing up the grill
and preparing steak or lamb, this is a good choice. The wine probably can
be cellared for a few years, but it's drinkable now.
2010 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
 This
wine is made entirely of Cabernet Sauvignon. Like their Malbec, this is matured
in both French and American oak barrels. We find the fragrance to show
notes of cassis and red fruits such as plums. We find a note of cola and
tea here, too. The oak seems hidden in the background.
Got steak?
2007 CATENA ALTA MALBEC
 This
wine is a big, dark colored, full-throttle Malbec. Some of the tanks
fermented on the skins for nearly two months in an effort to capture the maximum
of character. Blackcurrant fruit is in the middle with notes of violets
and wood spice around the edges...
It's a delight right now and should remain in top form for another 5 years, or
so.
Big.
- Currently available: 2008 Catena Chardonnay $16.99
2010 Catena Malbec $24.99
2005 Catena "Alta" Chardonnay $29.99
2010 Catena Cabernet Sauvignon $18.99
2007 Catena Alta Malbec $52.99
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OTHER BRANDS AVAILABLE TO US BY SPECIAL ORDER:
Subject to Availability
Prices noted are approximate and subject to change at the whim of the
producer, importer or distributor . We routinely offer our customers
pricing based upon the best price offered by the distributor.
ALFREDO ROCA
Pinot Noir
AMANCAYA (A Rothschild-Catena wine)
Malbec/Cabernet
ASTICA
Malbec- Cabernet
Chardonnay
Shiraz
HIGH NOTE
Malbec Elevated
LAYER CAKE
Malbec
MICHEL TORINO
Torrontes
Tannat
SANTA ANA
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet/Merlot blend
Chardonnay
Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc blend
Merlot
Malbec
BALBI
Cabernet Reserve
Malbec
Syrah
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Malbec
QUARA
Malbec
BROQUEL ($15-$17)
Chardonnay
Cabernet
Malbec
CARO
Cabernet/Malbec blend
EL PORTILLO
Cabernet
Malbec
Merlot
Sauvignon Blanc
Shiraz
Tempranillo
GASCON
Malbec
Viognier
Syrah
SANTA JULIA
Cabernet
Chardonnay
Malbec
Merlot
Torrontes
Viognier
BENMARCO
Malbec
Cabernet Sauvignon
VMS
Expressivo
BUDINI
Cabernet Sauvignon
Malbec
Chardonnay
GUSTO
Malbec
LA POSTA DEL VINATERO
Bonarda Armando
Malbec Paulucci
Malbec Pizzella
LUCA
2005 Chardonnay ($31)
2002 Beso de Dante (Cabernet/Malbec blend) ($52)
2005 Pinot Noir ($31)
2004 Syrah ($31)
2005 Malbec ($35)
MENDEL
Malbec
Unus
MIL PIEDRAS
Tempranillo
Malbec
Cabernet Sauvignon
Sangiovese
SAN TELMO ($7.50-$9)
Cabernet
Malbec
Shiraz
SEPTIMA ($9-$11)
Cabernet
Cabernet/Malbec Blend
Malbec
Tempranillo
Syrah/Tempranillo Blend
SUSANA BALBO
Cabernet ($28)
TAMARI
Malbec Reserva
TEMPUS ALBA
Preludio Tempranillo- Preludio Cabernet
Preludio Syrah
Preludio Malbec
TERRAZAS
Cabernet
Chardonnay
Cabernet Reserva
TIKAL
Patriota (Bonarda/Malbec blend)
Jubilo (Bordeaux-styled blend)
Amorio Malbec
XUMEK
Malbec
Syrah
ZOLO
Sauvignon Blanc ($10)
Chardonnay ($11)
Cabernet Sauvignon ($11)
Malbec ($11)
Merlot ($11)
Reserve wines: Cab, Chardonnay and Malbec ($21)
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