At first very quiet, the flavors expand like a peacock. Increasingly fun and rich, it brings eucalyptus and mocha first, then crushed blackberries with a wave of soft round tannins. Complexity is layered into the mix with wet leather, rain, and tobacco. A little serious, a lot of Argentinian wine fun.
Smells like a little coffee house on fire, but without the hipsters. Yes, that’s a good thing. This bottle is all about the oak.
Full bodied, the wine sports a round fleshy structure with cola and espresso notes on the attack, and licorice and dark fruits on the midpalate, with just an edge of chocolate. The oak flavors keep coming with vanilla and cinnamon on the finish.
The family run winery started in the 1950′s as a irrigation company, branching out into wine production in the following decades. They are now one of the largest producers and exporters of Argentinean wine. This bottle sourced from an estate vineyard planted at the foot of the Andes Mountains in 1974. While Tempranillo is not a well-known grape in the United States, it is planted extensively throught Argentina.
Via Wikipedia. Argentina contains the greatest concentration of high-altitude vineyards in the world. Altitude has become such a status symbol for growers in Mendoza that they almost dare each other to plant slightly higher with each new vineyard, with the best wines boasting their altitude as if it were a grand cru classification. Vineyards are commonly found at 900 to 1,050 metres (3,000–3,500 feet), whereas in much of Europe 480 metres (1,600 feet) is considered the upper limit for ripening. Many vineyards have been planted at 1,500 metres (5,000 feet), while Donald Hess, not satisfied with his Colome vineyard at 2,250 metres (7,500 feet), has planted another at 3,000 metres (9,900 feet)! One advantage of growing grapes at such heights is that they benefit from extended hang-time without producing wines that are too big and alcoholic.
Malbec might get all the glory in Argentina, but a good torrontes, like this melon-y, springtime-in-a-bottle white, stands out by virtue of its easy, almost dangerous drinkability. But don’t fret: if you kill a bottle on your own before your guests arrive, you can pick up another one for just $7.99.
Last night the Wine School hosted a tasting of South American wines at the Senior Law Center. Over the course of the evening, we poured everything from the usual suspects (malbec, sauvignon blanc) to less-known varietals and blends (torrontes, syrah-bonarda), and what struck me most–what always strikes me about tastings that allow us to delve a bit deeper into a specific part of the world–was how rich and varied these wines can be.
Indeed, if you can get past the temptation to taste only what’s familiar, you will find your wine life enriched in ways you never thought possible. That syrah-bonarda, for example, tasted like nothing so much as superripe black fruit dipped in pepper and sipped while chewing Bazooka bubble gum–strange, sure, but also kind of delicious.
The point is this: Drink outside the box, delve into regions and varietals you may not be familiar with, expose yourself to the unusual. The rewards are tremendous.
Epikur is a magazine about food and drink, with a focus on our hometown of Philadelphia.
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