Originally Posted by syzygy8
Gaucho, what's your take on the Tikal series of wines? Although I've yet to purchase it retail, when I see a bottle of Patriota on a wine list here in DC I usually go right for it. Aside from Patriota, I've also had another bottle of a Tikal blend, but can't recall which one. I do know I like them A LOT!
Any info on their pedigree? Are they sold in Argentina or made mostly for export?
And what's up with their bottles? (Unless you've had one, you wouldn't know this.) VERY heavy bottles!
Im a big fan of the Tikal series of wines. Tikal is part of the Catena Zapata Group, which makes quality wines in pretty much all price segments. They (Tikal) exports about 85% of its production - their local (Argentine) distribution is quite limited. Yes, the bottles are all huge and very heavy.... it seems to be a marketing trend amongst many producers these days.
The Patriota blend you mention is made up of Malbec and Bonarda. The other Tikal wines are Amorio and Jubilo. An older, now discontinued label of this series of wines was called Corazon. If you like these wines, I suggest you also look into tasting the labels of Luca, another line of wines from Catena.
Disclaimer: Im a Buenos Aires based Wine Merchant and I sell all these above mentioned wines.