Just Visit our online store and find your favorites or some new Malbecs that you have not yet sampled. Order one to try everyday for dinner and send us your tasting notes- we will post them on the blog to share with everyone!
Norton Barrel Select Malbec, the US Open wine
For the first time in history, an Argentine wine has been chosen to participate in the US Open, the most prestigious tennis tournament in the US. From August 30 to September 12, Norton Barrel Select Malbec will be the wine hosting the tournament to be held in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Those who are able to enjoy this major Grand Slam live will be entertained in VIP areas, where players and organizers will be present, with an emblematic wine from our country, such as Norton Barrel Select Malbec….
Look for other wine ACES in our online store!
It is winter in Mendoza and our gorgeous Andes Mountains are completely covered in snow. If you have ever come to Mendoza during this season, you will find that the nicest and sunniest part of the day is immediately after lunch – what we call siesta time. For this reason, we chose to do our barrel tasting at the finca, enjoying the warm siesta sun with the Andes as a backdrop. Who needs better inspiration than that?
Every week, Santiago Achaval, The Vines consulting winemaker, and Pablo Martorell, The Vines winemaker, do barrel tastings of the nearly 50 different wines that we are aging for our Private Vineyard Estates owners.
The wines are now undergoing malolactic fermentation and starting their vital journey of aging. It is necessary to monitor the wines during this process to ensure stability of the wine and the absence of any possible fault that might contaminate the wines.
At this stage, the main character of the wine is already determined. However, depending on the style of wine chosen by our clients, there are some small procedures that will need to be done in order to help achieve their desired style. For instance, if you want to improve the mid-palate structure of the wine, the number of battonage per month may vary. Battonage is the process of stirring the wine while it remains in its barrel on its yeast lees. This process results in the extraction of additional amino acids and mannoproteins from the yeast creating a “creamy” mouthfeel.
In essence, the main objective of these regular barrel tastings is to ensure a very good quality, observing the aging process in order to obtain the best characteristics out of each wine.
Our first wines are already aging in oak and we invited distinguished winemakers and wine journalists to do a barrel tasting! Each of them has different philosophies when making wine and therefore having their feedback is very exciting and valuable!
We visited our brand new winery and they were amazed to hear all the logistics and planning of our customized vineyard management and winemaking. They could not believe the meticulous winemaking plans we had for each of our clients! This year we crushed 113,024 kilos of grapes and ended up with 59,300 liters (15,665 gallons) of wine. With such volume we are considered to be a small-scale winery in Argentina, however, we had 83 different fermentations in one-ton stainless steel tanks! In other words, we had the same number of fermentations an average winery with the capacity of 2 million liters would have.
In our barrel tasting, we were able to taste all the varietals we made this year; Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot.
Tasting wines at this stage is not easy unless you know what you are looking for, and I can tell you that these guys did! That is why it is great to hear them talk about acidity, quality of tannins, fruit expression… how they project wine into the future is fabulous! It was also fun to hear all the different hypotheses for harvest, maceration, type of oak, etc. according to their winemaking philosophy. They all agreed, though, on the great potential of our wines despite the fact the vines are so young! A promising future!
But of course the day didn’t finish there… we shared a great asado at the ramada with astounding wines!
For all of you wine lovers! Thank you for joining us and sharing your passion with us!
Mariana Onofri (The Vines Sommelier), Pablo Martorell (The Vines oenologist), Bernard Portet (winemaker from Napa), Pancho Paez (Clos de los Siete wine seller), Thanassis Viafadis (General Manager-Bodega Krontiras), Giuseppe Franceschini (Italian winemaker – Bacan wines), Marco Toriano (Public Relations -Finca La Celia), Laureano Gomez (Oenologist – Eno Rolland Lab) Gabriel Bosso (Journalist-El Conocedor)
Marita and Walter Bressia enjoying a great asado after tasting our wines!
Asado with Marcelo Pelleriti, winemaker at Monteviejo winery, and Thierry Haberer, winemaker of Michel Rolland’s The Rolland Collection Wines.
Tomorrow is the big battle- Argentina vs. Germany! To gear up for the battle we felt it appropriate to pre-game a bit with some of South Africa’s finest wines.
The Vines of Mendoza Weekly Wines Series | South African Wines
Be sure to cheer Argentina on to victory tomorrow in South Africa!
Despite the global economic recession in 2009, Argentine wines have continued winning international acclaim for their high quality and wine sales have had an incredible growth. There are stats that show Argentina was the fastest growing import in US, followed by New Zealand, Spain and Chile.
One of my favorite moments as a sommelier is to introduce new amazing wines to our customers and have them share with me their impressions about Argentine wine. I feel proud to be able to witness people from all over the world loving our wine!!
As 2009 is over, we wanted to share with you the Top 10 wines that had the best success and were sold the most!
If you want to get more information about any of these wines email me at monofri@vinesofmendoza.com
Time to taste them!
Here they are in no particular order, we love them all!
1. PERPETUUM TORRONTES 2008 – A brilliant representation of Argentine Torrontes! US$ 15
2. MAIRENA BONARDA 2005 – Time to taste a new varietal? Taste this blackfruit blast. US$ 19
3. LA FLOR PULENTA ESTATE MALBEC 2008 – An easy Malbec to always have in mind! US$ 19
4. PUNTO FINAL RESERVA MALBEC 2006 – The best quality-priced wine! US$ 19
5. MONTE CINCO MALBEC 2003 – An spicy Malbec made in an interesting european style! US$ 29
6. RICOMINCIARE ALTISIMO CABERNET FRANC 2006 – Who said Cabernet Franc is just good for blending? US$ 40
7. LABORUM TANNAT 2005 – High Salta is present with this amazing powerful red! US$ 49
8. LINDAFLOR MALBEC 2004 – One of the best of Michel Rolland’s Argentine wines. US$ 49
9. BRESSIA CONJURO 2003 – Velvety, Intense & unforgettable! US$ 120
10. ACHAVAL-FERRER FINCA ALTAMIRA 2007 – The best of the best from the Valle de Uco!
Determining the exact faultless harvest dates for each parcel can be really challenging. It requires knowledgeable skills to lay down a meticulous harvest plan in order to have an ideal outcome at this important stage. Every so often, it is crucial to take the necessary risks in search of perfection.
In France as in Argentina, berry tasting constitutes a ripeness evaluation tool, which with a good training, allows not only to differentiate the degree of maturity concerning sugar but especially phenolic maturity, which equally is an essential indicator of potential wine quality.
As a winemaker, it is necessary you taste several bunches of grapes before drawing a conclusion about a parcel. When walking the vineyard you choose the berries at random, from different clusters, from different areas until you are able to determine harvest dates and quality for each parcel, or even divide a parcel if necessary.
One of the most highlighting things in my agenda last week was the organization and execution of the conference call we had with Michel Rolland and two well-known winemakers of his team as Thierry Haberer and Marcelo Pelleriti.
Michel Rolland is one of the most charismatic people I have met in the wine world. You can pick out his passion and of course his magnificent palate! When you share a tasting with him, he is usually very solemn since he likes concentration but it is fascinating to observe his ability to distinguish the best grape parcels just through tasting wine in its different stages. Then together with the winemaker they take decisions in order to get the best out of these grapes.
Along the conference (and before and after it!) we covered different topics but most importantly I would like to concentrate about Valle de Uco. I would like to highlight some comments that were made by Michel;
Mathias and Stefanie have recently purchased a lot in our project of Private Vineyard Estates in Valle de Uco. They are wine passionate and are determined to be part of this exciting experience of making your own wine!
They were able to join me for a wine tour at Pomerol and Fronsac. We started the day at Chateau Le Gay, Marcelo Pelleriti, guided us through a fabulous tasting of all 2009 oak casks and barrels. It was amazing to enjoy the different character Merlot can get according to the soil it came form. Finally, we ended the tour tasting with Chateau Le Gay 2008 and Chateau La Violette 2008, both wines 98 pts parker!
Afterwards, we went to Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, Michel Rolland’s Chateau at Pomerol, where Thierry, agronomist and oenologist was waiting for us. We started the tasting with barrel tasting of Bordeaux white varieties. It was great since I have been in Bordeaux this the first time I taste whites of the region. They have a very small production of whites and it is all micro-vinified. We tasted Sauvignon Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadet blended with Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. All these wine will be finally blended so as to obtain a classic Bordeaux white wine. Tasting didn’t finished there, we continue tasting the best barrels 2009 and 2008 of Merlot and Cabernet Franc… if it would have been for Thierry, we could have stayed there tasting wine ceaselessly, but it was time to go to St. Emilion for lunch. Luckily, Marcelo and Thierry joined us for lunch so we were able to continue talking and learning about wine throughout the whole meal.
We finished the wine tour at chateau Fontenil, another of Michel Rolland’s Chateau in Fronsac. Moving to another terroir made even more evident this huge character that the soil and climate gives to wine, and how winemakers have to learn to interpret it so as to get the best of it.
I lost track of how many wines we tasted.. I just can say that it was great tasting these amazing wines with passionate people as Mathias and Stefanie… and of course with such knowledgeable winemakers as Marcelo Pelleriti and Thierry Haeberer.
It is true that there have been times I have lost track of time when tasting wine… but let me tell you that never in the way we did last Saturday. We had a superb tasting in a kind of cavern restaurant where you could not say it was daytime or nighttime outside… it was like going through a tunnel time where lunch and tasting lasted 5 hours!
We were 11 wine passionate people enjoying of eleven amazing wines!!! Of course, all wine accompanied by true exquisite Spanish food.
It would be hard for me to talk about everything we ate… because it was an endless ceremony of different delightful dishes… but I can tell you much more about the wines we had… that out of 11 I could not say I disliked one. It was that kind of tasting where the quality is so elevated that no wine could be discarded. For sure I liked some of them better than others…And I had my favorite wines as well!
1. FRANCIS COPPOLA FAMILY WINES CHARDONNAY 1997 – NAPA
It was absolutely in great shape for its twelve years. It had a beautiful nose that started with softly toasty hazelnuts and as soon as it started breathing it became fruitier with some touches of green apples and passion fruit. Velvety and crisp, good volume and really nice integrated acidity and lingering finish.
2. CHATEAU LE GAY – SAMPLE WINE PARCEL LA ROUTE MERLOT 2009 – POMEROL
We started with a wine that despite of not being ready we could start feeling the great vintage 2009 will be for Pomerol. Appealing purple with black hues with smooth tannins that you wouldn’t guess it is a month-old wine!
3. BERGSTROM PINOT NOIR 2006 – DUNDEE HILSS VALLEY - OREGON
An absolutely great exponent of a true Pinot Noir. Elegant nose, black cherries, earthy minerality and subtle spices. Finesse in its tannins and fabulous explosion in mouth. A Pinot that could be compared easily with first-class Burgundy Pinot Noirs.
4. LACHIN PINOT NOIR 2005 – OREGON
Much more exotic on the nose and palate. Concentrated cherry and an appealing touch of earthiness, which complements the full-flavored, bright, ripe fruit. Excellent mid-palate and it really lingers on the finish.
5. CHATEAU LE GAY 2002 – POMEROL - 90% Merlot – 10% Cabernet Franc
This is what Robert Parker wrote about this wine…“A deep saturated purple color is accompanied by aromas of plums, figs, and black cherry liqueur. This dense, full-bodied, muscular, firmly tannic Pomerol should be cellared for 5-8 years, and enjoyed over the following 10-20. This is clearly a property to watch now that it is in the hands of Catherine Pere-Verge, who is intent on taking it to the summit of Pomerol. In a challenging vintage for this appellation she has produced one of the most powerful and concentrated wines of the year (with the assistance of Michel Rolland). Bravo.” … After 6 years I say again Bravo!!
6. BUGADER 2005 – Joan d’Anguera Montsant – TARRAGONA
Montsant, a relatively new D.O., surrounds the famous D.O. of Priorat southwest of Barcelona. With its 70% Syrah it shows all the characteristics of first-class Syrah. It had a bit of rustic tannins for my taste, on the nose it is smoky, meaty and even slightly earthy. On the palate the wine is rich with blackberry flavors.
7. RIDGE MONTE BELLO 1997 – Santa Cruz Mountains – CALIFORNIA – 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot, 11% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc
Elegant fruit whose tannins have softened considerably after 12 years without losing character. Still I think it should be drunk now or in no more than 2 years…Naturally signs of time are started to be noticed. I loved it though!
8. BALTHVS 2004 – BORDEAUX SUPERIOR – Merlot
40 year-old Merlot vines gave birth to this wine. It is a concentrated wine, lot of black fruit and tobacco. Personally I think it needs more time in the bottle to be fully enjoyed.
9. PSIS TEMPRANILLO 2007 – RIBERA DEL DUERO
Peter Sisseck has made this exciting wine. It is supposed to be a revelation concerning its style. I personally liked it a lot. Juicy and really pleasant acidity. A very attractive wine.
10. LINDAFLOR MALBEC 2005- MENDOZA
Well… what can I say… I have been in love with Lindaflor 2004 for a long time now. Lindaflor 2005 was rich, intense, with amazing velvety tannins but still needing time. I think this wine has a great aging potential… so we need to wait for it at least a couple of years if possible.
11. OPUS ONE 2005 – NAPA – 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec.
The result of a partnership between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild to create a Bordeaux style blend in Napa Valley. Outstanding concentrated aromas of blueberry, violets, licorice and a touch of nutmeg and black pepper. In mouth it is so velvety, elegant but concentrated as well… I have to say that it was definitely my favorite of this unforgettable tasting!
