Argentinian Taste Off
The six wines from the Mendoza region made it to Napa from the East Coast to allow me to drive into San Francisco in plenty of time for the tasting. I arrived at the Metreon's Farmers Market to set up for the tasting near the empanadas booth only to discover that many of the prepared food tenants were MIA due to a malfunction of the shared kitchen. My clever idea to match Argentine wine with with Argentine food was not to be. Instead I headed down to the opposite side of the building and arranged tables in the food court for our tasting. Members found me and we had a find time sampling and rating the vino from south of the border. Afterward we headed upstairs to catch District 9, a highly acclaimed movie which somewhat disappointed.
But not the vino. The overall impression was very favorable. Two main discoveries were made by participants: an introduction to Torrontes and to a super premium Malbec that could rival any made in the world and many Bordeaux blends.
The Torrontés reminded some of a fuller bodied, more succulent Pinot Grigio, much like an Arneis, and akin to a Viognier. It is grown only in Argentina and is considered their signature wine. It is not known how Torrontés arrived in the country, but it seems to have been there a long time, suggesting that it was brought by Spanish colonists, quite possibly missionaries. This wine is always priced attractively. This version produced by Broquel is one of the many labels marketed by Trapiche. Our smaller than usual group gave the wine an 89. And at $15, our value wine of the tasting.
Another surprise was the price tag of the single vineyard Trapiche Malbec : 50 bucks. So much for the assumption that all Argentinean wines are less sophisticated, relatively simple cheapies. Not this wine, which all agreed was full bodied, complex yet consumer friendly, lush with a long finish. It ended up one of the highest scoring wines of all our tastings.The full results of our Taste Off can be found on a spread sheet contained in the files of our Meetup website.
Thanks to the Wines of Argentina and TasteLive for providing these superb wines. A very enjoyable evening.
The wines in order of tasting:
2008 O Fournier B Crux Sauvignon Blanc $22
Group Average: 3 (85) Good 6th place
| Light almost fizzy, grassy, fruity/sugary,would be ok on hot day, just not sexy, lacks varietal distinctiveness, tart, sparkly, grapefruity,citrusy, spicey, mango, hits back of the tongue hard, |
2007 Broquel Torrontes $15
3.8 (89) Very Good/Excellent tied for 2nd place BEST VALUE
| Fruity/apples, resembles sauv blanc, should be served very cold, soft with a bit of spice, full, strong fruit, peach, sweet, tangy, would be great with spicey food, |
2006 Zuccardi "Q" Malbec $19
3.29 (86) Good/Very Good 4th place
| Zin like, big yet light, vanilla, more restrained/elegant, not much nose, slightly sweet, dark, pleasing, not as hearty as the other Malbecs, light apple taste |
O Fournier Alfa Crux Malbec $40
3.82 (89) Very Good/Excellent tied for 2nd place
| Spectacular nose,deep, smooth, delicious, plum, figs,tabacco, soft chocolate, quiet, creamy, herbish, high alcohol, toasty, harmonious |
2007 Domaine Jean Bousquet Reserva Malbec $19
3.25 (86) Good/Very Good 5th place
| Rich nose, really smooth, a little sweet, very fruit forward, black fruit spicey, moldy,some souness, well aged, mature with finesse |
2006 Trapiche Vina Federico Villafone Malbec $50
4.44 (92) Remarkable 1st place
| Silky, fruity, delicate, fan-fucking-tastic, very smooth, rich, buttery, sweet, vanilla, fleshy, bouquet is beautiful, delicious, seductive |
Posted by tom merle at 9/12/2009 7:08 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Bay Area Wine Society TasteLive Wines of Argentina
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Bay Area Wine Society TasteLive Wines of Argentina
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