|
It’s great to be back in Argentina -- the land of great wines and history. So many vintages and so many great stories have been told since Mendoza winemaking began in the early 1500’s. As many people know, the Catholic Church planted mission grapes in Mendoza back in the time of the Conquistadors, just as they did in California.
The first immigrants, together with politicians and community leaders had a great impact on today’s new wines from Mendoza. I would like to name a few of these pioneers: T Benegas, founder of Bodegas Trapiche (circa 1891); Sarmiento, the Argentine patriot who brought vines from Chile; Pouget, a French enologist; De Marquette, a wine writer (circa 1868); and Norton, who built the train line between Mendoza and Buenos Aires in 1895.
Many of Mendoza‘s most respected wine families have been producing wines for more than 100 years. Some names that may be familiar are Nicolas Catena Zapata, an Italian-Spanish immigrant with many wines in the US market; Cavaliero Adriano Senetiner, also from Italian roots. former owner of Nieto Senetiner and now in charge of Viniterra Wines; the Arizu family from the Basque region own the Luigi Bosca winery; Susana Balbo, also of Italian descent, a revolutionary winemaker at Dominios del Plata; and Jose Zuccardi , another Italian and maybe one of the most charismatic wine ambassadors and innovators in Mendoza today (gracias Jose!!), with the most visited winery record in 2006, hosting 45.000 visitors in the country.
Yet, it wasn’t until the early 1950’s that wines were made of 100% Malbec in the desert districts of Mendoza. Did I say desert? Yes, even if Mendoza didn’t have the Roman viticultural skills found in many of the old world regions, the politicians and community leaders were able to engineer water canals to irrigate the vines. Three hundred years ago, the Mendozan’s already knew how to irrigate the desert by using and controlling the melting ice of the Andes Mountains. This water system irrigated the vineyards of Agrelo, Tupungato, Lujan del Cuyo, Valle de Uco, Lunlunta, and other sub-regions of Mendoza.
Malbec is Argentina’s most emblematic varietal, also known as Cot in the Loire, Pressac in Alsace, Auxerrois in Cahors region in France, and Tinta Amarela in Portugal. Malbec all but disappeared in France after the 1956 frost, where it had been used as a blending grape. Thanks to the warmer climate, Malbec has a riper character in Mendoza, softer, richer tannins, and complex flavors of intense spices and fruit jams. After tasting some of the new gems, single vineyards wines, and great proprietary wines, I believe Mendoza is on the right track, and is already the Nap,a Valley of South America.
Some wines to look for are Terrazas de Los Andes from Chandon, produced using grapes from higher altitudes (1,800 to 3,000 feet above sea level) and Altavista in Lujan del Cuyo, owned by the d’Aulan family from France, former owners of Piper Hiedsieck with other properties in St. Emilion and Hungary. Look for the single vineyard wines, Temis, Alizarine, and Serenade, wonderful expressions of different terroir. The Spanish family, O. Fournier makes B Crux and A Crux from the Valle del Uco sub-region. These wines are blends of Malbec, Tempranillo, and Merlot, impressive wines from the most western region at the foot of the Andes. Vistalba, owned by Carlos Pulenta makes Corte A, B, C, blending syrah and bonarda in the wines with an international approach and incredibly palatable, rich tannins. Susana Balbo, with more than 20 years of winemaking around the world, makes wines from the Agrelo region. Her top wine, BenMarco is a blend of Bordeaux grapes, Malbec, and Bonarda. This deep intense wine has spicy notes and a deep earthiness with explosive fruit. Her Dominios del Plata Bodega has many wines that are imported to the States like the CRIOS line. Adriano Senetiner’s Viniterra winery is producing a 100% Carmenere wine, the only one in Mendoza, with incredible grip and palate structure. Achaval Ferrer shows a clear understanding of the international style, producing wines with rounder tannins, harmonious fruit and elegance with real aging potential. Look for Finca BellaVista, from Perdriel and Finca Altamira from La Consulta, by far my favorite sub-region for Malbec. The new Finca Sophenia, started in 1996, makes wines with great quality value ratios from the heights of the Tupungato sub-region. These powerful and structured wines will enchant any palate with traditional flavors and an international elegance.
From the heart of Lujan del Cuyo, Carlos Gei Berra makes surprising single vineyard wines with intense violet aromas, quince, tobacco and deep wild berry flavors. Bodegas Trapiche, a winery awarded many medals at the famous London Wine Fair, was one of the first wineries to export wines from Mendoza back in 1970. Today’s winemaker, Daniel Pi, continues to make a broad range of wines with price-points to suit any consumer’s wallet. Catena’s Nicolas Catena Zapata, a rare wine from Agrelo, only made in great vintages, is a blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is full-bodied, dry with aromas of wild berries, tobacco, and violets, gentle tannins on the mid-palate with a long finish and great personality. This wine will age for 12 years or more! This masterpiece is a gem of the Andes, and is made by enologist J.Galante, who has been at Catena for more than a decade. The winery looks like an Incan Temple facing the snowy peaks of the breathtaking Cordillera de los Andes and makes me think that this place should be known as one of the seven wonders of the wine world!
Last, but not least, the Antucura Winery in the Valle del Uco makes wines with so much potential, articulate backbones, firm tannins, and long lasting finishes. Californian wines have nothing on these. The aging potential is better than any other Mendoza wine that I have tasted. Cavulcura, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, is superb. Benissimo Gerardo and Madame Biancheri!
Some American investors are also making great wines in Tupungato and Lujan Del Cuyo. Mr. W. Lay of potato chip fame owns Andeluna Cellars which is producing great wines. Mr. Lay, even if your winery is young, everything that I tasted is showing tipicity and great winemaking skills. The vineyards are 4,000 feet above sea level and the wines show respect for the grapes and terroir. This is definitely a winery to watch in the coming years -- bravo Silvio!!!! And yes… Napa’s “flying winemaker” is well-known in Argentina, too -- Paul Hobbs at Los Cobos. I wish a sample of Cobos had been available. It’s expensive, but the buzz is that it’s worth it. |
