We flew out of San Francisco two months ago, and although we have just begun settling into Mendoza, we have not wasted any time with getting to drinking, er, working on familiarizing ourselves with local wines. To date we have tried 65 wines, mainly Mendoza Malbecs. Mendoza is Argentina’s Napa Valley, and has approximately 2000 wineries, covering several different sub-regions and appellations. The part of Mendoza most renowned for producing Malbec is Lujan de Cuyo, and two other important areas are the Uco Valley and Maipu. Below are some highlights from our tastings so far, as well as some wine you can buy today in the U.S. (no need to fly to Argentina to buy them, though if you’re coming let us know and we can help you find your way to the wineries.)
We initially focused on Uco Valley wines, an area that has recently begun receiving a lot of international attention and which has been heavily influenced by the hands of a few international winemakers and consultants. An interesting, great value wine is Lorca’s 2005 Poetico Malbec, produced with Uco Valley grapes, with yields of 1
bottle per plant. Their production is still relatively small (total capacity of approx. 450,000 liters), though the wine is readily available internationally. Malbecs produced by Salentein are also highly regarded, and as their production is a bit higher (3 million liters), their wines may be a bit easier to obtain in the U.S.
After our initial exploration of Uco Valley, we’ve moved on to the classic Lujan de Cuyo Malbecs. Lujan de Cuyo is considered to produce the very best Malbecs in Argentina, and we’re looking forward to verifying this for ourselves! Lujan de Cuyo produces Achaval Ferrer’s wines, which many consider to be the best of the best. We attended a winemaker evening last week, and had a chance to sample Achaval Ferrer’s portfolio and learn their winemaking philosophy; as these aren’t value wines more information will follow in a later post.
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Ruca Malen produces some great, funky, terroir-driven wines, among them a stellar Malbec. Their 2006 Malbec contains grapes from both the Uco Valley and from Lujan de Cuyo, as well as an interesting twist (12% Petit Verdot and 8% Tempranillo grapes.) This wine is a steal at $15, and pairs really well with game, as we’ve enjoyed it at Molokai, one of our favorite restaurants, with a smoked deer ravioli (delicious – sorry Bambi!) and Patagonian lamb.
Another winery producing great yet still affordable wines from this region is Lagarde. When we visited their tasting room we were impressed by the very solid quality levels across the board, especially within their Guarda line. They produce both a Guarda Malbec DOC, as well as a very elegant, complex blend called “Guarda” which is a blend of Malbec (40%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), Merlot (20%) and Syrah (10%.) Guarda opens up nicely, and was nice to drink on its own and very food friendly when we enjoyed it out our other favorite restaurant, Ocho Cepas. It paired both with J’s dinner of grass-fed steak and my trout and egg scramble on brioche (it tasted much better than it sounds.)
An interesting wine to try is Bodega Benegas Don Tiburcio 2006, a very balanced, drinkable wine which is 50% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Merlot. This wine is a great way to understand the style that Michelle Rolland lends to a winery (he consults with Bodega Benegas), and is a steal for less than $15.
Last but not least, try Alta Vista Premium Torrontes 2008. It’s a very balanced, elegant Torrontes produced from high altitude vineyards in Salta (the home of the best Torrontes.) We’ve had fun trying the different styles of Torrontes, and it’s a varietal that is very easy to drink. Tapiz produces an award-winning fruit-forward Torrontes which is great on a hot day and which we’ve found helps pass the time when stuck on a bus during a border crossing. Alta Vista’s style is crisper and has great acidity to balance out the fruit. It is full of honeydew, honey suckle, pears, orchids, basil, lemonade, with hints of a dusty, rocky terroir. No, it’s not a Malbec, but it is a very refreshing wine produced by one of the wineries in Argentina producing stellar Old-World style wines in the New World. At $15, you may even want to buy a case to stock up for summertime.
