Woman’s Social Group Wine Tasting Features Argentine Wines
Linda’s social organization’ s wine group held a wine tasting focused on Argentine wines and I was invited to curate the evening.
Hostess Linda S prepared an extensive selection of charcuterie for pairing with the wines - cheese, chocolates, sliced beef, chicken wings and fresh berries, mixed nuts and vegetables.
Each of the ladies brought a bottle to share and compare and Julie also brought a couple of Argentine White Wines to set the stage and open the evening.
The red wine flight |
The ladies and their wines |
The main wine flight featured an interesting selection that included the signature Argentine varietal Malbec as well as a couple of Bordeaux varietal blends.
Argentina has emerged as a major wine producing region in the ‘new world’ due to its remarkable combination and wide range of natural resources and landscapes suited for wine production.
We started with two diverse white wines.
Zolo Torrontes 2021
This Argentinian white wine is comprised of Torrontes, an Argentine varietal white grape. This winery is owned by Argentine wine luminary Patricia Ortiz, owner of three Argentine wineries, one of Mendoza’s top ambassadors to the world and in 2019, she was the first female President of Bodegas de Argentina, the leading trade association. She is profiled further as part of the review of her Wapisa Winery below.Winemaker Notes - “Pale yellow with green hues. Delicate aromas of floral and citrus notes. On the palate is fresh, sweet and balanced. An excellent example of Torrontes.”
This was rated 90 points by reviewer James Suckling.
I found this a slight bit off-putting with aromas of tennis ball rubber and a rather flabby character. Light straw colored, light medium bodied, notes of lychee and citrus fruits with hints of peach and pineapple with a crisp acidic finish.
RM 87 points.
We then moved to this interesting White instantiation of the traditional varietal of Argentina, Malbec.
Artesano de Argento Mendoza Agrelo White Malbec 2023
Julie brought this interesting white Malbec to try with the focus on Argentina and their predominance of the grape varietal Malbec.It was rated 90 points by James Suckling and 89 points by Vinous.
Pale straw and light green colored, light medium bodied, notes of green apple with hints of lime citrus and peach with crisp dry finish.
RM 88 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/w?5002334
https://bodegaargento.com/usa/
Moving to the reds, we started with the two Bordeaux Blends since their increased breadth and complexity required more discernment than the bigger, deeper and bolder single varietal labels.
Clos de los Sieti Valle di Ucca Mendoza by Michel Rolland
This was a delightful discovery brought by Treva and I was eager to try this wine crafted by Michael Rolland. It was recommended to her by a friend who knows the region and its wines well having visited and worked in wineries in the region as part of a personal sabbatical.
Michel Rolland is known globally as the "flying winemaker" due to his extensive travels as a consultant working for more than 150 wineries in fourteen countries on four continents in the northern and southern hemispheres. We love and collect his wines through his involvement with several producers including the Long Shadows Collector Series where he is contributing winemaker with the Pedestal, Merlot label. It was the showcase feature of this blogpost - Long Shadows Cellars feature world class winemakers and Columbia Valley fruit.
This release of the estate wine Clos de Los Siete is composed or 55% Malbec, 16% Merlat, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Syrah, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. 800,000 bottles were made.
This release was awarded 94 points by James Suckling and 91 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.
This was bright Ruby colored, medium bodied, complex but nicely balanced and harmonious, ripe currant and blackberry fruits with notes of mineral, glycerin, herbs, creosote and dark bitter mocha chocolate, hints of pepper, cinnamon and vanilla, with soft smooth polished tannings on the moderate finish.
https://cuvelierlosandes.com/en/home-en/
We then tasted the other Bordeau blend comprised of three varietals.
Mascato Mendoza Unánime Gran Vino Tinto 2018
Julie brought this Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux Blend from Mascota Vineyards in the San Carlos zone toward the southern end of the Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina at the foot of the Andes Mountain range. Proprietor Rodolfo Sadler launched Mascota in Mendoza and has been crafting wines for nearly 30 years.In addition to his award-winning highly rated Cabernet master winemaker Opi also produces a portfolio that includes Malbec, the leading varietal of Argentina, Bordeaux varietal Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
From his father, José Alberto Zuccardi, Sebastián inherited the determination and desire to constantly strive for excellence.
Sebastián, third generation of the family, follows his father, José Alberto Zuccardi, leading a team of agricultural engineers and enologists, in producing some of the the highest quality wines in the Uco Valley.
The winery has had a research and development area since 2008, dedicated to studying the terroir and the diverse variables that affect wine quality. The goal, in Sebastián’s own words, is “not to strive for perfect wines, but wines that express the place, the region.”
This is produced by Laura Catena, a fourth generation winemaker, daughter of legendary Argentine winermaker Nicolás Catena. In 1997 Laura, a Harvard and Stanford trained Biologist and Physician, joined Bodega Catena Zapata as Research Director. She learned there was a site with 80 year old vines from which the fruit that were being sold for bulk wine. In 1999, Laura Catena founded Luca Winery to explore the quality potential of small Old Vine family owned vineyards in the Uco Valley region of Mendoza.
This label, Luca, is named after Laura Catena's son. The branding on the label is the family crest of her husband, Dan’s McDermott family.
Winemaker Notes - This is a great example of Mendoza Malbec. Incredible deep purple red color. Loads of spice and black and red cherry aromas with notes of chocolate. The berry flavors really pop on the palate as the wine has both a full mid palate and lively acidity that leads to an incredibly long finish. A bottom note of freshly brewed espresso keeps the mouth watering too.
This was rated 95 points by James Suckling, 93 points by Wine Spectator, 92 by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
Garnet colored, medium-bodied, plum and blackberry fruits are highlighted by violet floral notes with subtle vanilla, mineral and rich dark chocolate notes on the firm finish.
Wapisa is owned by Argentine entrepreneur Patricia Ortiz who is the owner and President of three wineries (Tapiz, Zolo (featured above), and Wapisa), and nine sustainably-farmed vineyards in different parts of Argentina. She was the first female president of Bodegas de Argentina, the industry trade group.
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