Vines of Mendoza Blog

The Vines of Mendoza - Decanter Magazine

Earlier this year we had the privilege of meeting Steven Spurrier, the noted wine journalist for Decanter Magazine in London. Steven is perhaps most famous for the blind wine tasting he staged in Paris in 1976, known today as Judgment of Paris (and currently under production as a feature film), where both the white and red wines from California upset those of their French rivals. On the first evening Steven and his wife (they were on their 40th wedding anniversary trip, after all) visited our tasting room in Mendoza to enjoy some Torrontes on the patio, he invited, or perhaps more appropriately, challenged us to host a tasting for him of the 10 most provocative wines being made in Argentina today and wines that, in our opinion, best showcased the future of Argentine wines. Of course, being the wine enthusiasts that we are, we couldn’t resist the challenge. Steven joined us a couple evenings later to taste the 10 wines we had selected and had this to say about his first-ever visit to Argentina and The Vines of Mendoza in Decanter’s July 2008 issue…

The consumer in Argentina is learning at the same time as the wineries are’; and ‘When we really discover the vineyards, we will make great wine’.
This last comment was echoed by Matt Hobbs who, with partners Michael Evans, Dave Garrett and Pablo Gimenez, owns The Vines of Mendoza, an impressive wine bar around the corner from the Grand Hyatt. He put on a tasting of 10 wines for me that, for him, represented the country’s most exciting new styles. Catena Angelica Zapata Chardonnay 2003 from the Tupungato region at 1,200m near the Andes foothills was the best white of my trip, and the Achaval Ferrer Finca Bella Vista Malbec 2004 was equal to the five-star wines of the major tasting. Hobbs’ list offers 97 wines by the 170ml glass and if this wasn’t enough to guarantee return visits, the partners have created Private Vineyard Estates, a 200ha property in the Uco Valley overseen by Santiago Achaval, which they are selling in plots to investors wanting their own wine made for them. There’s huge demand for this project, especially from Californians who have seen the success of a similar, but far more expensive, venture at Bill Harlan’s Napa Valley Reserve. For investors wanting to stay in the so-far hotelless Uco Valley, the partners will soon open a hotel and spa.

We are proud (although not surprised!) to see how much Mr. Spurrier liked the Achaval Ferrer Finca Bella Vista. Not only is this one of our favorite wines, but Santiago Achaval is one of our favorite winemakers. He is a close friend of The Vines and the consulting winemaker for our Private Vineyard Estates project. In 2010 we will producing our own wine, and that of our vineyard owners, with his help.

See complete article here http://www.decanter.com/archive/article.php?id=257790

Private Vineyard Estates - Uco Valley - Mendoza - Argentina

Tales from the Mendoza Wine Trail

Several weeks ago I stopped to talk to a couple of friendly British visitors to the tasting room here at The Vines of Mendoza. They were doing a tasting of our reserve malbecs, and we got to chatting about the wines and their experiences here. My brief conversation with Tim and Richard resulted in quite a few laughs, as well as my begging them for a written version of this story so that I could share it. Whether or not you are familiar with the specific parties involved, I’m sure you will find it amusing. It provides some real insight into the Mendoza wine scene - it’s not for nothing that they’re calling this “The New Napa Valley…”

—–

By Tim Crocker-Buque and Richard Graham

One day, while I sat in the local pub with some friends, we were discussing what we might do with our four weeks annual leave, which was fast approaching. I aired the idea that Argentina might be an interesting adventure. Why, you ask? Was it the culture, the Tango, the nightlife? A little of all of these perhaps, but also the opportunity to sample wines from one of the worlds most innovative and exciting wine regions. After I arrived in Buenos Aires I booked the bus trip traversing the country to Mendoza – synonymous with Argentina’s national grape: Malbec. The journey was not an easy one due to Argentina’s current economic unease, and the farmers had set up a number of roadblocks along the way. After a bus ride that should have lasted 13 hours swiftly turned into 22, I reached Mendoza. I disembarked the coach and made my way to the hostel. When greeted with a true Argentine Asado, a large social barbeque consisting of a large variety of steaks, sausages, racks of meat and generally any edible part of an animal, and a large supply of some delicious wine to wash it down with, all my aches, pains and troubles soon disappeared!

During the course of my first evening, while inquiring as to the best way to taste the local wine, I was introduced to Richard. A British expat who had been living in Mendoza for the past 18 months, he had recently started running tastings in local hostels, showcasing wines to travelers passing through the city. Infected with my enthusiasm he offered to accompany me on a journey through some of the local wineries. With somewhat fuzzy memories of the previous evening and almost impossible-to-remove purple stains on our lips we hopped into his car and headed out along the long signpost-less roads to the Valley de Uco, in the shadow of the magnificent snow-covered Andes rising imposingly from Mendoza’s otherwise flat landscape. Our first stop was the Tapiz winery, where we sampled their wines straight out of their stainless steel tanks, guided by one of their very knowledgeable and passionate members of staff. Having shaken off our hangovers and now armed with a number of bottles of their reserve reds we headed towards our next appointment, at the Pulenta estate.

On the way we decided to stop for some lunch at La Barrica, a curious restaurant situated in an unassuming service station by the side of the road, but one with a reputation for good quality food for hungry wine travelers. As it was off-season the restaurant was virtually abandoned and the waiter seemed to have decided that we were both going to have the lunchtime special, refusing to allow us to order anything else. All for an easy life, we went along with him and ordered a bottle of Familia Gascon Reserva Cabernet 2004 to accompany our meal. When the wine arrived Richard tasted it, and a look of both confusion and disappointment came over his face. One of those awfully awkward restaurant moments ensued; something about the wine wasn’t right. The waiter, eager to get on with his job, plonked the bottle down and left us to decide what. We both have some wine experience in the wine industry, but when we smelled this bottle we couldn’t put our finger on what was wrong with it. It wasn’t obviously corked or oxidized; there was some fruit there, but it wasn’t as it should be.

Hearing American accents drift over from the table behind us, Richard concluded that two Americans in an empty restaurant in the middle of June, miles from everywhere except Argentine wine country, must be in the business. He walked up to their table, armed with our suspicious wine, apologized for disturbing them, and asked politely if they were in the wine trade. Unsurprisingly the answer was affirmative. Richard asked if they would mind just smelling our wine and seeing if they could determine what was wrong with it.

“You haven’t even introduced yourselves yet”, said one coolly. By this point I was standing next to Richard and we introduced ourselves, slightly sheepishly.

“Hi, I’m Paul Hobbs” he said as he shook our hands. There was a brief pause in our conversation as somewhere in the depths of both of our brains we felt something click into place. “I consult for various wineries, including this one.” Taking our dodgy wine he said, “It’s just old, passed its best.” Armed with this knowledge, we thanked them and returned to our table. We looked at each other with identical, vaguely confused expressions.

“Did he say Paul Hobbs? I’ve heard of him…” mused Richard, and I agreed that I had too. We realized that our somewhat cool reception may have resulted from the fact that as a very recognizable member of the wine industry he probably gets asked quite regularly for his opinion on wines, although our encounter was purely accidental! As we were talking an almost full bottle of wine landed on our table. “Here, try this”, he said, “It’s one of mine”. Thanking him profusely, we enjoyed the rest of our meal accompanied by a 2005 La Garto Merlot, donated by Paul Hobbs himself.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the spectacular Pulenta winery, enjoying some of their finest (the Gran Corte is absolutely sublime, and watch out for the Dolce Cabernet Franc, it’s like nothing I’ve ever tasted before). That evening we headed to The Vines of Mendoza to sample some of their very excellent tasting selections and discuss our adventures with their very friendly staff, who were highly amused with our unexpected Paul Hobbs encounter.
Overall the Mendoza trip turned out to be a brilliant wine adventure, and if you’re considering heading to this part of the world I couldn’t recommend it highly enough!

Note: For those of you who are curious about LaGarto, as of the recent 2007 release it is called Felino and is currently available in the United States with this new label.

Sunrise at the Private Vineyard Estates

One of my favorite things to do in Mendoza is to watch the sunrise out at the vineyard. Watching the mountains turn from black to red and purple and then gold is quite an experience. The good news is that this time of year it doesn’t come until about 8:30 in the morning. The bad news is that it is VERY cold before sunrise out in the Valle de Uco. Anyway, my obsession with photography continues and these are my two favorite photos from yesterday morning.

Skiing Mendoza - Las Leñas is Open for the Season!

It’s snowing in the valley! Las leñas opened for the season on June 13th.

After tasting some great malbecs at The Vines of Mendoza, we recommend visiting Las Leñas in the south of Mendoza Province. Or maybe you should do that the other way around… go skiing and then taste Argentina’s best boutique wine!
The Valley of Las Leñas is situated in the department of Malargue, Mendoza. It´s one of the most popular ski resorts in South America, well known for it’s spectacular skiing both on and off the trails. They’ve already had two big snow falls and they are expecting another storm this week. In the summit there are 7.21 feet. Pure Fresh Powder!!

For more info, check out Las Leñas online: www.laslenas.com

or contact them directly: (+5411) 4819-6000, informes@laslenas.com

Dark, fruity malbec spices up barbecue season!

From the Vancouver Sun, a great article on why Argentine Malbec is perfect next to the grill. Coal, gas, or wood-burning (like the parillas in Mendoza!), Malbec is always a match.

By Anthony Gismondi
Friday, June 20, 2008

If it’s true that a region’s wine develops a certain synergy or simpatico with its food, it must make sense to consider some country’s wine and perhaps exclude others when you are looking for the classic barbecue red.

Think about it. Italy and barbecue, not really; France and charcoal grilled beef, no way. Spain, I believe, has more outdoor ovens than barbecues. German barbecues - who has ever been to one? No, when it comes to barbecue I believe Australia, Argentina, South Africa and North America are the countries with the most backyard chefs.

Today we further refine our search and settle on one country, Argentina and one varietal wine, malbec.

Interest in Argentine malbec is at an all-time high, so much so that it is approaching a new modern-day danger point in the wine business. That’s when a wine becomes so popular MBAs on Wall Street or Fleet Street think a beer company should start buying wineries, or worse, a mega multi-national distributor starts gobbling up wineries and spitting out brands with animal labels.

See complete article Here

Malbec - from Cahors to Mendoza

WINE: ARGENTINE MALBEC

Here is yet another example of the Malbec grape picking up heat in the international press! This one compares Malbec from Argentina to that from it’s native home in Cahors, France. We here at The Vines of Mendoza certainly prefer the local variety…

From Telegraph.co.uk, Jonathan Ray on an old-world varietal’s new spiritual home:

They do like their beef in Argentina. For the sixth meal running, I’m faced with a saddle-sized slab of bleeding sirloin without so much as a hint of greens.

But it is so absurdly tasty and melt-in-the-mouth tender that I wolf it down. And I help it on its way with a cracking bottle of local malbec for which I’m also developing a taste. That should give me enough vitamins.

I am in the Uco Valley in Mendoza in what appears to be a little corner of France. My host, winemaker Jean Bousquet, hails from Carcassonne and so impenetrable is his accent, with its hybrid Languedoc/Argentine twang, that half the time I can’t tell whether he’s speaking French or Spanish.

Somehow we make each other understood.

“I came here because I was tired of making wine in France, with its petty regulations and crippling costs,” he explains. “I had heard tell of Mendoza and once I saw its perfect weather, soil, aspect and altitude, I knew it was for me. I planned to grow pinot noir and chardonnay, but once I tasted other people’s wines I realised that malbec was the key. I dug up my vines and started again.”

Some 70 per cent of Argentina’s wines come from Mendoza and although some great cabernets and merlots are made here, malbec, the most planted variety, is king.

Once widely grown in Bordeaux, nowadays the grape is barely seen outside Cahors in south-west France and Mendoza is fast proving to be its spiritual home.

“It’s a minor player in France now, but a major player here, capable of great things,” says Bousquet. “Somewhere in style between cabernet and merlot, Argentine malbec has colour, structure and wonderful fruit. It’s ideal for making fine, competitive wines.

“Winemakers are restricted in France, but here we are free to make the wines we like in the way we want and malbec is a joy to work with. I’m not in exile here, I’m in paradise.”

Bousquet’s fellow countryman, the fabled Michel Rolland, consultant winemaker to some of the world’s finest wineries, has also set up shop in Mendoza.

Clos de los Siete is a spectacular, state of the art operation backed by a number of high profile French investors including the Cuvelier family (of Château Léoville-Poyferré fame) and Baron Benjamin de Rothschild (of Château Clarke).

An 850 hectare (2,100 acre) estate at the foot of the staggering snow-capped Andes, it is a unique collaboration of seven wineries, all making their own wines as well as contributing to one joint one, Clos de los Siete itself.

“Here it is all about malbec,” explains general manager Carlos Tizio Mayer. “The grape was brought from France to Argentina via Chile in the 1860s and prospered after 150 years of careful selection using the best cuttings. I believe the variety has developed into something quite distinct from French malbec.

“It is a genetic gem with superb colour and acidity and is perfectly suited to Mendoza. Do you think Michel Rolland and his associates came here because it was cheap? Don’t be absurd! They came here because of quality. They could have gone anywhere in the world, but chose malbec and Mendoza.”

So, too, did François and Jacques Lurton down the road, scions of the illustrious Bordelais family. François recently bought out his brother and although by a strange quirk he is having huge success with pinot gris (he ordered chardonnay cuttings from France, was sent pinot gris by mistake, planted it anyway and loved the result), his malbec is a thing of wonder.

Jean-Pierre Thibaud, former CEO of sparkling wine producer Bodegas Chandon and now owner of Ruca Malén, is yet another Frenchman (well, sort of: he was born in Argentina, but of French parents) making the most of malbec in Mendoza.

“We don’t yet fully appreciate the jewel we have,” he says. “That we can make superb wines here is not in doubt. Our consultants tell us they can’t believe the quality of our fruit. We have 330 days of sunshine a year and haven’t had a bad vintage since 1998.

“Our vineyards are planted at high altitude where it is sunny but cool. We harvest fully ripened grapes with thick skins which is great for colour, structure and silky tannins. I’d say our biggest challenge isn’t the weather, but the management of our country’s economy.”

As well as these French-flavoured wineries, I visit Salentein, Sophenia, Benvenuto de la Serna, Antucura, Catena and Fournier. Some are small, others are vast and modern. Some are dedicated simply to wine, others boast restaurants, guest houses and hotels. One even has a remarkable art gallery. It’s boom time and all are gearing themselves up for wine tourism.

I sample delectable violet-scented, ripe, soft, supple, fleshy, plummy, velvety smooth malbecs: some single varietals, some blended with dashes of cabernet, merlot or syrah. I find that I’ve fallen for Mendoza and its wines in a big way.

If I see another steak, though, I’ll scream.

RED WINE MAY CURB FAT CELLS

Red wine appears to protect the heart and prolong life. Now a new study suggests it may also be a weapon against obesity.

Resveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine, appears to inhibit the development of fat cells and have other anti-obesity properties, according to a report from researchers at the University of Ulm in Germany. The findings, to be presented this week at The Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, show that in laboratory experiments with so-called “pre-fat cells,’’ resveratrol prevented them from converting into mature fat cells. Resveratrol also hindered fat storage in the cells.

Another reason to drink red wine. (Owen Franken for The New York Times)

The compound also reduced production of certain cytokines, substances that may be linked to the development of obesity-related disorders like diabetes and clogged coronary arteries. Resveratrol also stimulated the formation of a protein called adiponectin. The substance, known to decrease risk of heart attack, is diminished by obesity.

“Resveratrol has anti-obesity properties by exerting its effects directly on the fat cells,” said the study’s lead author, Pamela Fischer-Posovszky, a pediatric endocrinology research fellow in the university’s diabetes and obesity unit. “Thus, resveratrol might help to prevent development of obesity or might be suited to treating obesity.”

Whether to add red wine to your daily diet must be balanced against other health risks. For people with alcohol dependency problems, the health benefits of red wine are far offset by the risks of drinking to excess. Excessive use of alcohol can lead to addiction, traffic accidents and potentially fatal medical problems.

Increasingly, studies support the idea that drinking a small amount of alcohol each day — no more than one to two servings — is better for you than not drinking, but the findings don’t apply to everyone. Even small amounts can increase risk for certain health worries, like breast and colon cancer. Although those risks are generally offset by the extra heart benefits, some people may decide it is not worth it.

For more on how red wine appears to slow aging, click here

WINE OF THE WEEK: Argentina offers good deal you won’t find from European wine producers

Here’s another review of great value wine from Mendoza. At The Vines’ Tasting Room we have 93 other wines by the glass to enjoy, many of which are available for purchase in the United States via our online store.

While European wine imports are nearly prohibitive because of the high euro, the wines of South America beckon U.S. consumers.

Spanish sparkling wine producer Codorniu’s foray into Argentina introduces us to this tasty little wine called Septima Malbec.

Coming from vineyards planted 3,300 feet up on the Andean plateau in Mendoza, this is the greatest place in the world for growing the malbec grape varietal. Originally from Bordeaux, France, this varietal lost favor there, but has proved a success in Argentina, yielding wines with depth and power, as well as concentration. This is an excellent example of that, and for a very low price.

In the glass, Septima Malbec is a deep, dense violet-red color with an opaque blackish core going out into a fine ruby red rim definition with medium viscosity.

On the nose, there are earthy licorice-laden black fruit notes with crushed black cherries, plums, sandalwood, roast beef and hints of oak, over subtle touches of spices and tobacco.

In the mouth, the wine just coats the palate with rich, rounded black fruit characteristics, such as black plum compote, crushed brambleberries, pomegranate seeds, cran-grape juice and soft hints of wood. The midpalate is incredibly well-balanced and shows suppleness in the tannin structure, making it through to the silky finish that has yet more cherry liqueur character and hints of star anise powder and chewing tobacco.

While Septima Malbec is a more earthy style of wine, it is delicious with food, and pretty much anything thrown on the grill would work well with it. The wine should drink well for another two to three years, but serve it in a nice big glass that’ll bring out all the flavors.

Wine: Septima Malbec

Grape: Malbec

Region: Mendoza, Argentina

Vintage: 2005

Price: $8.99