This large, once wealthy South American country used to make huge quantities of wine ands consume much of it. The European stock of Argentina is Italian, but even before they set foot on South American soil Spanish conquistadors were establishing vineyards in the 16th century, partially for religious reasons.
Fore centuries, Argentina’s Mendoza region on the east side of the Andes Mountains produced untold amounts of inexpensive wines. The middle and poor class of the popualtiopn consumed much of it, and a good portion of the low-end wine was exported to the U S S R in huge tankers.
Gradually, revolutions, mismanagement of the economy, and world markets forced wineries to abandon their flawed quantity objective and they started focusing on quality. “Argentina’s potential for wine making is amazing and the diversity of its future prospects is dramatic” says Michel Rolland, the world famous “flying” French wine consultant. He is so convinced about the potential that de diced to be a partner in the winery called Los Sietes.
Argentina is better known for its red wines, although now there are very respectable chardonnays and torrontes grown on high altitude vineyards.
Jancis Robinson, a respected English writer and taster claims malbec to produce excellent red wines on Argentine terroir.
L C B O’s Vintages division’s recent malbec releases support her claim.
Australia has its shiraz, New Zealand sauvignon blanc, and now Argentina malbec. Notoriously tricky to ripen, malbec needs a very particular set of climatic conditions. In Argentina the long sunny growing season is perfect for bringing out the rich vibrant and sometimes wild flavours so prized by malbec lovers.
If you like hearty beef or game stews or medium rare steaks, malbec will match both admirably. If you like hard cheeses like aged cheddar, pecorino de sardo, Gruyere, Emmethal or parmigiano reggiano, malbec will be an extraordinary match.
But cabernet sauvignon does well in Argentina too. Like malbec, cabernet sauvignon came to Argentina via France. The Uco Valley seems to be superbly suited for growing flavourful cabernet sauvignon.
Bonarda, originally form Italy, is ell kept, largely undiscovered grape yielding fruity ad full bodied wines at bargain basement prices.
Here are some recommendations:

Clos de Los Sietes 2007 – fruity and floral aromatics. Full body and spicy flavours.
622571 $ 23.75

Bonarda, 2007, Chakana – berry flavours dominate. Spicy flavours mixed with black currant and espresso roast make this wine very appealing.
003525 $ 13.95

Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006, Catena – complex, fruity, thought-provoking flavours, nuances and full bodied.
985002 $ 19.95

Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, 2005, Don Eugenio – from the high-altitude Uco Valley in Mendoza, this dark and impeccably balanced cabernet sauvignon deserves the attention of all who like gutsy wines.
032094 $ 13.95

Clos des Andes, 2005, is a 100 per cent malbec sourced from an 80-year-old vineyard. Dark, the wine offers a lovely bouquet of smoke, cedar, violets, blueberries and black cherries. Well balanced/
002014 $ 29.95

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail.   Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?

Did you Enjoy This Post? Share it with others!

Tags: Argentina, Wine

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 06:00 and is filed under Food & Wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.