In that case, we are talking about the same wine... ^

BTW, let me know what vintage you find in GRU.... Im guessing it will be 2005 or older.

One of my favorite producers, Rutini, has come out with a new line of wines under the Encuentro label. This new line-up includes a 100% Malbec, a 100% Cabernet, a sparkling blanc de noirs, and one seven vineyard blend. Excellent wines in various price points... and an upcoming Single Vineyard high-end Malbec which is still to be announced. Here are the details....

Rutini Encuentro Malbec
Rutini Encuentro Cabernet Sauvignon
Rutini Encuentro Chardonnay
Rutini Encuentro Brut Nature, Blanc de Noirs Sparkling
Rutini Encuentro Seven Vineyards Blend
Rutini Encuentro Single Vineyard (TBA)

Had guests for dinner yesterday, I decided to open a couple of older wines to test some ageing performance of some top Argentine Wines.... featured on the list were:

Rutini Sparkling Brut Nature 1999
Angelica Zapata Malbec Alta 1997
Enzo Bianchi Grand Cru 1999
Benegas Lynch FBL Barrica 2001
Felipe Rutini Antologia V 1999
Achaval Ferrer Quimera 2002
Miguel Escorihuela Gascon 2000
Rutini Vin Doux Naturel 1999

It was one of the most memorable wine evenings of the past decade... ^

How many guests?

Bolding mine.
Was any food served at all?

Probably invited a couple of abandoned dogs in off the street......any excuse to crack open some decent vino will do. ^

Yes.... catering provided by Cuisine Du Sud (Jean Paul Bondoux, La Bourgogne Alvear Palace Hotel).... ^

Fine wine and haute cuisine...how come the Ambassador wasn't invited?

I think I'll have somebody abandon me outside his house, and I'll bark.

No budget to fly him in from the sticks.....

Just returned from BA with 26 bottles of vino. All safe and sound in my basement :-)

Thanks to Gaucho100K for providing me with a nice selection of old favorites and new discoveries that cannot be found at home as well as the wonderful service his company provides with great packing in reliable shipping containers and assistance getting to a taxi!

I also found wonderful bottles while walking around town and popping into various shops, selecting a bottle or two here and there to place in an empty shipper I brought along. However, I was glad to have visited Terroir first as they had unique wines not found in these other stores so it worked out well in this order.

Also found the EZE duty free shop still has a reliable stock of high end domestic wines that you will not likely find at home so I was able to score a pair of single vineyard Catena malbecs at a fair price before boarding.

I declared value of all 26 bottles at US customs and after handing me off to three different agents, sent me away without any duty fees.

The cases survived both intl and domestic (regional carrier) flights and the two extra bottles were packed into my checked bag after customs and suffered not.

Cheers,

-Cyborg

For those that like powerful reds and want to try a high-octane version of a single vineyard Malbec from Mendoza.... here are two new labels that have just been released....

= HD Gran Reserva Malbec
= Durigutti Single Vineyard Malbec - 10 Year Special Edition

Solid Malbec typicity, with a style that reminds me of some cult Australian Shiraz monsters..... for those that like this style, you will surely enjoy these... ^

A wine store in the D&D Design Centre in Sao Paulo (same complex as the Sheraton) is selling the 2006 Estiba Reservada for R445($US220) That compares favourably with the price of $US330 at Aeroparque yesterday and is probably close to retail in BA (well if you get a favourable exchange rate for US dollars)

and if anyone is looking for a stocking filler at Xmas:

http://www.flipaste.com.ar/502-degus...apata-p-8.html

The 2006 vintage is pretty much sold out... there are very few remaining bottles in the market, so prices have been very firm.