Argentine Wines 101 and Q&A thread
 

Given the number of Wine and Wine related questions that are popping up on various other Argentina related threads, Ive decided to start a wine specific thread. Please post all your Argentine Wine & wine related questions here and we (the other resident Argentina experts and I) will do our best to answer your questions.

I will also write a couple of initial posts with some basic information to get this started... the idea is not to have this be a comprehensive wine guide, but some basic concepts about what makes up the core of the wine industry and its wines in each region.

For this I will post a couple of "fake" posts below so that I can later edit them and keep things organized. Moderators, please dont remove these duplicate posts.

Argentine Wine Geography - an introduction
 

Argentina is one of the worlds largest wine producing countries, a fact that is still relatively unknown to many visitors that arrive, even to those with a specific interest in wine.

There are multiple regions producing wine, but for the wine aficionado there are three principal areas of interest. Mendoza (in Central Argentina), Patagonia (to the South), and Salta (Northern Argentina).

Argentina´s premiere wine region is Mendoza, a province found just to the right of the Andes mountain-range. Mendoza is the first region that comes to mind when talking about wines from Argentina, much like California and/or Napa Valley comes to mind first when thinking of wines in the USA. Mendoza gets little rainfall, and there is ample usage of ancient man-made irrigation channels (mostly concentrated around the older regions of wine country), and new high-tech computer controlled drip irrigation in the newer developments of the Valle de Uco Region.

To the north of Mendoza, you have various provinces producing wines... the most important being Salta (followed perhaps by San Juan). Both provinces are growing in their production of quality wines that are slowly catching up to Mendoza in their incursion of foreign markets. Salta is know for its high altitude wines, and also for the indigenous grape varietal Torrontes (more on grapes & wines styles in posts below). The Valles Calchaquies (Valleys of Calchaqui) offer amazing landscapes, making Salta an ideal destination if you want to combine breathtaking views with some great wines.

If you head south, towards Patagonia, many wine lovers will be surprised. Patagonia is known for its natural beauty, wildlife, excellent fishing & hunting. Alas, its now making itself a big name for wines. Two provinces are at the forefront of the Patagonian wine movement, Rio Negro and Neuquen. Recently, Chubut has joined in with what some are calling promising Ice Wines.

grape varietals - some examples
 

Argentina is known for its Malbec. This grape, of French (Bordeaux) heritage has found its “home” in Argentina, where it has thrived and gained true international recognition and acclaim. Wine Gurus from all over the world have praised Argentine Malbec as the best of its kind, including Robert Parker Jr. who has been quoted as saying that Malbec is soon to be accepted as one of the great wines of the world thanks to the expression this grape has produced in various regions of Argentina.

Apart from Malbec, Argentina also produces some very interesting and high quality Cabernet Sauvignons. Blends are the next area of interest, from the staple “Mendoza style blend” of Cabernet/Malbec/Merlot to various Bordeaux inspired blends, there are styles and price ranges to suit everybody. One promising grape that is showing promise is Bonarda. This lesser known grape is identified with Italy, but has always been widely produced in Argentina.

In the white wines department, Torrontes is the white varietal somewhat equivalent of Malbec. Under this name, its related almost exclusively to Argentina. A textbook Torrontes will appear floral (almost sweet) to the nose, but should be bone-dry once you taste it. Apart from Torrontes, most of the best Chardonnay grapes in the country are used for the production of sparkling wines. Some higher end cuvees are made following a strict Champenoise methodology, and are a very pleasant surprise to those that have never tasted sparklers from Argentina.

Argentina also produces some very interesting Shiraz (known here as Syrah), Merlot, Cabernet Franc (some very old vines make some superb high-end CFs), and blends thereof. The elusive (& difficult to grow) Pinot Noir is also grown, although high quality examples of this varietal are not easy to find.

Dont only look at red wines
 

Some lesser known varietals are also grown in Argentina, creating some very interesting (and mostly not exported) wine labels. Some of these varietals include: Barbera, Sangiovese, Tocai Friulano, Viognier, and Bonarda. Some examples:

- Escorihuela Gascon PP Barbera
- Benegas Sangiovese
- Escorihuela Viognier
- Trapiche Fond de Cave Bonarda Reserva
- Nieto Senetiner Reserva Bonarda

For those looking for dessert wines, its useful to know that almost all white dessert wines are late harvest and do not have botrytis as part of their production process. Most of Argentina´s wine country is rather dry, so for the very few botrytis wines available conditions must be created artificially. The best know example of a botrytis dessert wine is the Vin Doux Naturelle made by Rutini.

- Rutini in Doux Naturelle
- Afincado Petite Menseng

In the red dessert wine field, there are many examples of fortified wines, many of which are malbec based. Very few Passito style wines are available, the best perhaps being the Achaval Ferrer Dolce (though this is produced in incredibly small numbers and is rather expensive).

- Angel Mendoza Oportuno
- Achaval Ferrer Dolce
- Bianchi Stradivarius Porto de Magoas

recommendations: producers & labels
 

Below is a shortlist of some producers I would recommend looking out for, followed by a selection of what I consider to be the highlights of each portfolio of labels:

Bodega Benegas (Mendoza)
- best known for its Bordeaux Blends & super-old vine Cabernet Franc
- makes an excellent Sangiovese & Syrah
- best wines made under the Benegas Lynch Brand (Meritage)
- also has a couple of excellent QPR everyday wines (Don Tiburcio, Juan Benegas)

Escorihuela Gascon (Mendoza)
- Syrah-Cabernet blend, excellent high-end Barbera
- very good QPR whites (Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and dry Tocai)
- top of the line labels made under Miguel Escorihuela Gascon labels

Bodega Sur de los Andes (Mendoza)
- Infinito Malbec (icon wine of this producer)
- Malbec Grand Reserva

Achaval Ferrer (Mendoza)
- Malbec Mendoza
- Quimera (blend of cabernet malbec merlot & cab franc)
- Dolce (Passito style dessert wine)

Familia Zuccardi (Mendoza)
- Zeta Tempranillo-Malbec (icon wine of this producer)
- Malamado Fortified Malbec (Port style)

San Pedro de Yacochuya (Salta)
- San Pedro Torrontes (white wine)
- Yacochuya Rolland (very powerful high altitude malbec)

Bodegas Catena Zapata (Mendoza)
- Catena Zapata Estiba Reservada (cabernet based blend)
- Angelica Zapata Malbec Alta
- Angelica Zapata Chardonnay Alta
- DV Catena Cabernet-Cabernet

Rutini Wines – Bodega La Rural (Mendoza)
- Antologia Series (various varietals & blends)
- Felipe Rutini (Bordeaux blend)
- Vin Doux Naturelle (Sauternes style dessert wine)
- QPR Coleccion Cabernet-Malbec

Trapiche (Mendoza)
- Medalla Blend (cabernet malbec merlot blend)
- Iscay (merlot malbec blend)

Finca Las Moras (San Juan)
- Mora Negra (bonarda malbec blend)

Callia (San Juan)
- Gran Callia - Reserva del Enologo (blend)

Great idea for a thread Gaucho100K! ^ Been thinking about popping over to Argentina for a while and this might just give me the impetus I need. ;) Even if I don't visit soon, I'll be able to use the information when I'm shopping in European supermarkets.

Surprised to see that you put San Juan down your list of importance in producing regions.

I have just bought two cases of a Shiraz produced in San Juan.After purchasing one bottle to try from my local branch of supermarket (Tesco) in Britain I rushed down to snap up as much as I could as it was the most delicious full bodied red wine I have ever tasted,so maybe Mendoza better not rest on their laurels if San Juan keep on producing wines like that.

Living here in Scotland with my Argentine wife I have to say we try and only purchase wine from Argentina and I encourage everybody who has not tried it to give it a go as pound for pound it is certainly better value than the most obvious countries who produce wine. ^

Hiddy-- very glad to hear you are enjoying Argentine Wines. Thanks for your observation on my San Juan comment, in going back to read my post above it does indeed seem like Im somehow giving this region a "second-class" status. I will look into rewording my above post, since this is not doing San Juan justice.

I do stand by my comment that Salta is today clearly the superior Terroir... but this is a case of Salta being better, and not that San Juan is bad, or second rate. Its true that Syrah/Shiraz is the best offering from this province, although Im a huge fan of what old-vine Bonarda is producing. Also, as many of the wine aficionados on these boards know, Im a HUGE fan of the Mora Negra. Made by Finca Las Moras, Mora Negra is a blend of Malbec & Bonarda, and its a staple in the yearly purchases for my personal cellar.

Overall, Salta has more depth, tradition, and variety in quality wines than does San Juan. Still, as you very correctly point out, San Juan does have a few gems that are well worth checking out. One winery for you to look out for is Xumek. They make a Shyrah thats very good... Im not sure what the exact branding is for the UK but its either Xumek Shiraz or perhaps Xumek Sol Huarpe Shiraz. Hope this helps.

Gaucho100K


Thanks for the tips I shall keep my eye open for your recommendations.

In the UK the variety of Argentine wines grows every year so the signs are good that they are being noticed.

Cheers

Gaucho100K:

Very interesting thread ^
Regarding Malbec: First of all it's a great wine .. dark red ... gos great with steaks.

At Concha & Toro (C&T, winery in Chile) they mentioned, that all of Malbec in France was destroyed. Some time ago French winemakers visited C&T and found Malbec grapes; the C&T people had "listed it" as Merlot, they took some back to France and grow it again. True? - can you confirm this?
BTW, today I went to "Total Wine" to get some bottles. It's a huge wine shop, and it looks they are doing well... not many Argentine wines though. Are you aware of this company?

USAFAN-- Glad you are enjoying this thread. As I mention in one of the introductory posts, Malbec is originally from France. When the devastating Phylloxera plague hit Europe in the 1860s it severely crippled European grape growers. Prior to Phylloxera, Malbec was an important grape in Bordeaux, but after the pest hit, it was almost entirely wiped out. As for the C&T story, it is indeed true that Malbec has in the past been mistaken as Merlot. Grape varietals were commonly mistaken in all wine producing countries, not only in the new world (even in Europe). Only with the more recent advances in Science in general (and Agronomy in particular) have wine-growers been able to precisely categorize their vineyards.

In modern wine-making, different grapes (and their clones) are constantly being tested in various areas, with winemakers buying & selling vines for different experiments. The Europeans come to the Americas to buy clones, as do new world winemakers in Europe. As far as I know, Carmenere is the most sought after grape in Chile, although it is possible that some old-vine Malbec is also interesting for some French grower to test.

Regarding Total Wine, I do know this company, and have visited various of their locations before. Their online catalog does list quite a few Argentine wines, although their actual in-store stock may be less ample. I would encourage you to check with them about the labels that they perhaps don’t stock on their shelves… these large retailers can usually get you the bottles from another location, a centralized warehouse or even order them from the importer.

Gaucho100K:
Thanks ... very interesting.
Your "hobby" became your profession - great.
A good friend of mine just told me proudly: "Finally, I am member of the Commanderie de Bordeaux .." He had to work (drink) hard for this .. all over the world .. Austria, Germany, Italy, France, South Africa ... His "doctor father", so to speak, was Markus Del Monega, Master of Wine and World Sommelier. You may know him, he works for Lufthansa (and also for Aldi Sued!?!).
Good luck and Votre Santé ....

At Concha & Toro (C&T, winery in Chile) they mentioned, that all of Malbec in France was destroyed. Some time ago French winemakers visited C&T and found Malbec grapes; the C&T people had "listed it" as Merlot, they took some back to France and grow it again. True? - can you confirm this?
BTW, today I went to "Total Wine" to get some bottles. It's a huge wine shop, and it looks they are doing well... not many Argentine wines though. Are you aware of this company?[/QUOTE]


I do not think that story correct. Carmenere was difficult, just about disappeared, and as I understand it reimported from Chile, where it had been passed off as cabernet, and merlot. I dislike the grape, as I think it has an extremely disagreeable aftertaste. I once did a tasting with about 10 of the best, and I disliked all.

"Malbec has always been grown in bordeaux and in cahors." schoonmaker, 1964.

"typical fine medoc.....5% Malbec" "St Emilion......10% Pressac(Malbec)" penning-rowsell 1969.

If it was there and being used in the early 60's it was there before the war.


Finding Argentinian wines. Probably the easiest way is to contact the distributor. Parker lists the importer/distributor, and a phone number whenever he reviews the wines. if an importer does Arg. wines, he probably does a number of them. Ask who distributes in my state. then call the distributor, and ask who carries what.

there is of course www.wine-searcher.com. the pro version is worth the cost.

a list of wines and importers would be a nice addition to this thread.

As slawecki correctly points out, Malbec has always been a component of many fine wines in France. Today, many Bordeaux style blends crafted in various countries include some Malbec. Examples of these blends are found not only in Argentina, but also in the USA, South Africa, Australia (just to name a few).

been to 2 Arg(what's the abbreviation to argentina?) tastings.

Broquel, the better label from Trapiche. comes in malbec, cab, and chard. a very nice wine, very well made wine. well worth the $12-13 retail

Vina Alicia. the top of the luigi bosca line(must be 10 differert grades of this guy's wine). cab, malbec and syrah. all very fine wines. $55 a bottle!!

then, Vina Alicia specials. a select malbec, petit verdot, and a nebbiolio. these are terrific wines, but really, $80+ dollars for an argentinian wine? almost every nebbiolio from barolo/barberesco this side of GAVI is under $80.

The plain old luigi bosca malbec is very decent, and I slightly prefer it to the Broquel, and is also available for $12-15 retail.

Also at a few tastings, a

La Bamba chenin/riesling. a wonderful starter wine, with a lot of substance and a delicious flavor. can be had for $8, or $80 a case. forget those cheap CA chards, and try this. I have no idea who "la bamba "really is