Already blessed with a superb flagship variety in Malbec, Argentina’s winemakers are increasingly revealing their hand as masters of the art of blending. This is especially true of their top red wines where the sumptuous, aromatic purity of high altitude Malbec is proving a perfect partner with a host of Bordeaux and other red varieties.
Cooking with wine means you are compelled to uncork a bottle at least an hour before you otherwise would, and to drink a glass or two at least an hour before you probably should. This is self-evidently a good thing.
When Luigi Bosca, a top wine producer from Mendoza, made his first appearance at the London Wine Fair in 1993 people shuffled up to his stand, looking curious. “Does Argentina actually make wine!?” How times have changed…
The Uco Valley covers a vast area, and visiting the bodegas requires a little forward planning. There are basically two options: organise it yourself, or join a tour. In this guide, we’ll look at some of the options for tours, as well as some reputable tour companies.
If you´re the kind of serious Argentina wine drinker who thinks Mendoza is soooo 2005, strap on a good pair of boots and head for Catamarca in Argentina´s wild, wild west. If the malbec doesn´t grab you, the scenery will
Late September in Buenos Aires – the jacaranda trees will be clothed in purple blossom, the football season will be in full swing and around 50,000 producers, traders and keen drinkers of Argentina wine will be converging on the La Rural exhibition centre for the city’s annual Feria Vinos y Bodegas (Wines and Wineries Fair).
New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc – a wine described as a “bungee jump into a gooseberry bush”, celebrates its 25th birthday this year. The country’s most iconic wine managed to kick-start the great Kiwi invasion of the wine shelves and in doing so helped launch a whole new generation of intense, grassy, nettle-scented Sauvignons.
Yet for all its popularity, it is just one style of this mouth-watering wine. For those who have grown tired of nettles and gooseberries, or who simply want to explore what else this versatile grape can offer, a trip to Argentina could well be an eye-opener.
Millions of years ago the Highlands of Scotland were as high as the Himalayas until steadily worn down by winter snow, ice and rain. Today they peak at a modest 4,409 feet in the shape of Ben Nevis whose summit is a relatively easy climb that does not require oxygen. Still it’s more impressive than Holland’s highest point which is apparently somewhere in the middle of a supermarket car-park. If you live in a comparatively flat country like Britain, it is hard to really imagine the effect of altitude, unless you travel. For me it hit home when back-packing through Bolivia years ago. I will never forget…
Argentina’s second most planted grape variety is a bit of a mystery. Bonarda, which may be the same as a Californian grape called Charbono, is believed to have slipped into the country during the 19th century, brought here by immigrants from northern Italy. In Piedmont, home of Barolo and Barbaresco, there are three different grapes of this name and no-one really knows which one travelled to the Argentine…
Not so long ago, Argentine winemakers believed their greatest export triumph would come from well-known international varieties like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet. After all, these were the grapes demanded by wine drinkers in the West, rather than something called Malbec or Torrontés – Argentina’s most planted white variety. Of course, it is hard to ask for something if it is not on the menu.
And that is definitely no longer the case with Malbec, whose popularity abroad has given Argentine winemakers a boost in self-confidence. Having scored with the country’s top red grape, many are now looking to repeat the success with Torrontés…