In the morning we had the concierge at our hotel call a cab
for us so lili could get another Starwood stay to assure
Platinum again, and the Sheraton Libertador had a good rate,
and though we had these comical issues during the last stay,
the general manager said that we'd be taken care of.

First, the bad: the taxicab driver took us to the wrong
Sheraton, despite our telling him the right name and the
right address. As I recall, two other taxis had tried to
do the same thing. So we got into a tiff with our driver,
which is always a bad thing. Plus the meter ended up 20
pesos heavy. I debated just giving him the right fare, but
we did have stuff in the trunk, and 20 pesos is only about
2.40 even at the official exchange rate.

The good: the general manager gave us the Presidential suite
in honor of lili's status and our inconvenience, however
minor, during our previous stay. And it was ready for us
when we arrived at 9 am.

Description. The atrium is about the size of your normal
room and has its own half bath. To the right, a quite big
living and dining area with a stereo and big-screen TV,
seating for 6, plus a full-size queen leather foldout couch.
Past that, a full kitchen with fridge, 4-burner range, sink,
kitchen cabinets and equipment, microwave, and coffee maker.
To the left of the entrance is a large bedroom (another TV)
and a medium-size study. A two-sink L-shaped washing area,
and in this order: the toilet and bidet in one room, a sauna
fit for the president and his or her secretary, a shower
with hand-held and rain heads and 6 body jets, and finally a
jacuzzi that could seat 4 comfortably. Being a clean-minded
sort of guy, I spent much of my time in this room playing
with the shower. Other than that, we didn't make much use of
the facilities except for the bedroom and the study, whose
comfy chair (there was also another comfy chair, which got
my suitcase, and an uncomfy chair for the desk) was perhaps
better for sleeping than either the bedroom or the foldout.
The place was well cleaned and reasonably elegant in a last
millennium sort of way. We spent an hour marveling and
taking pictures like a pair of rubes, and it was soon time
for the next wine event at Marieta at 11 for a tasting of
'11 wines (only three of them, plus a '10).

Bressia Lagrima Canela 10 - Mendoza. A new world style of
what I thought an old world blend - your standard white
Bordeaux formula. It had adequate oak, citrus, peaches, and
some herbal qualities. Clean and refreshing, and people
said that it was a porch-sitting wine. Gaucho revealed later
that it was quite expensive compared to the norm and that it
contained Pinot Gris (where I thought it had Semillon) as
well as the grapy Chardonnay. I liked it pretty well but
wouldn't spend the money, I think.

The reds were all 100% Malbec, different expressions of the
grape, all 2011. Interesting comparisons.

Ernesto Catena Padrillos Malbec - Mendoza was again a
lightish uncomplicated wine with a nice complex nose but
too many cherries on the palate, which reminded me of the
quaffable style that has become popular among younger
drinkers. Oh, I wouldn't turn my nose up at it, but it
was not really my style.

HD Malbec Altamira - Mendoza wasn't my style either, though
in a different way. Too cold, if you will. A big wine with
plenty of everything, sweet ripeness, fruity aroma, tannin,
body, a sort of overwhelming experience.

Escorihuela Gascon Small Productions Malbec - Mendoza -
this was the same wine we'd had at Sotto Voce, and I enjoyed
it just as well at this tasting. Maybe more because of the
pairing with the snacks. The best balance of the lot, just
right, to quote the children's story.

Some of the same snacks as last time, some different. The
beef empanadas were gone, replaced by fried croquettes of
egg and ham, quite moreish (I like fried food, and the
grease evens out the edges of young wines), and an odd
choice for a mostly red tasting, fried squid, with which
I got extras of the white wine, and they went well together.

We lolled around a bit and chatted (as this was to be the
last event that Gaucho was to be present at) before deciding
to walk together to lunch at Fervor, a mile up the way in a
fashionable neighborhood. Our place was ready - I think we
had one more than the reservation was for, but no problem,
they added another deuce to the end and all was well.