The history of Argentinean wine closely mirrors that of itsneighbor, Chile.Spanish missionaries planted the first vines during the mid-16th century.The city of Mendozawas founded in 1561 in the heart of the premiere wine growing region -- itremains the core area for the nation's wine industry. The industry began toflourish in the early 1900's, but declined after Juan Perón was deposed in1955.
Until the late 1980's, Argentina's vineyards focusedmainly on producing large quantities of table wine for the country as well asconcentrated grape juice -- which became a major Argentinean export. As Argentina'spolitical and financial situation stabilized, an influx of money, moderntechnology, and oenological (WineSpeak for "the study of wine") know-howchanged the face of the industry. With standards up to world-class levels,high-quality product began to emerge from the mountain slopes.
Argentinaexported less than 10% of their total production until the late 1990's, andArgentine wine was almost impossible to find in the United States until that time. Wordgot out around the world as quality improved, and exports explored. Argentina isnow a major player on the world market -- and with the combination of value andquality, I see no change in that status anytime in the near future.
Argentina'sclimate is extremely well-suited for grape growing. Altitude, low annualrainfall and humidity, lots of sunshine, and excellent soil give Argentina manynatural advantages. Its geography also provided it with protection against ourold friend phylloxera -- which hasalso never been an issue with Argentine vines.
Argentina'swines are generally bold and uncomplicated, although there are some more subtlewines being produced in small quantities (and a considerable markup,unfortunately). Argentina isbest known for the success of the malbec grape -- a little-used French blendinggrape that became a star in Argentina.Argentina also growscabernet sauvignon and merlot among its reds, and they've started experimentingwith shiraz, tempranillo from Spain, and Italian sangiovese (usedto make Chianti). In the white family,Argentine Chardonnay is considered a strong up-and-comer in the wine world.They do small quantities of Sauvignon Blanc, but Chile seems to do a much better jobwith that particular grape, in my experience. I also had a chance to try aTorrentes recently, which is known as Argentina's "big white."I'll come back to it later on, but it's got a very fruity, balanced taste --somewhere between a Riesling and a pinot grigio.
A few tasty selections:
San Felipe 2006Chardonnay -- The label inscription states: "A perfect balance of lushfruit and soft spice" -- and the flavor comes close to following suit. Thenose is a combination of flowers and green apples. The initial taste lives upto the "spicy" promise, almost peppery, but that fades quickly. Themid-taste is quite tart for a chardonnay, and the promise of fruit certainly isthere. If it were lighter in body, I'd almost think this wine could have beenone of those Chilean sauvignons that I hit before. There's a very nice roundcitrus flavor. The finish is, again, spicy -- cloves maybe. This is certainlynot a complex chardonnay by any stretch, but for $8-9 a bottle, it's certainlya very nice, interesting white. With chicken or shrimp, it'd be quite good, anda gazpacho or other cold soup would go wonderfully with this.
Pascual Toso 2007Malbec -- Malbec! Malbec! Malbec! I can't state enough what a greatvarietal I think this is, especially if you're going to be doing anything onthe grill. I touched on the Altos in my first column, and I thought I'd compareit to the same varietal from a different winery. The nose of this particularmalbec hits you with a raspberry and pepper scent, but with slightly less aromathan the Altos. The mouthfeel of this, however, is richer than the Altos --with smooth, rich raspberry and vanilla flavors. The finish has a little bit ofpepper, but a lighter tannin than the Altos, making it a fantastic wine to pairwith a big steak (like the New York strip, lightly marinated in soy sauce andthyme with a side of grilled asparagus I did with this one). You'll find thisfor $10-12, and it's well worth it. There's also a reserve Pascual Toso malbec,which I've heard really good things about. Long and short -- if you find amalbec that says it's grown in "Mendoza,"you've probably got a winner on your hands.
Funky Llama 2008 Shiraz -- As I mentioned, one of the newest grapes onthe Argentine scene is shiraz.Most of the shiraz sent up from Argentinatends to be in the lower price points -- so you'll find some very decent,inexpensive selections. Funky Llama usually competes with many of theinexpensive Aussie wines at many stores -- you'll often see them placed side byside. Big hitter, this llama. This wine is extremely fragrant andblackberry-jammy -- stronger even than the malbec. In WineSpeak, they'd call thiswine "fruit forward." Nice tart blackberries and licorice mix with amedium tannin to give you a big initial taste. It's not as "round" asa cabernet or some other shirazes, but it's still solid. The finish is a quitepeppery and a little dry. There's nothing complicated about this wine, but for$4-7 a bottle, you're certainly not going to be complaining. Anything earthy isgoing to go well with this -- roasted eggplant, beef curries, brisket, or ribsof any sort.
Until next time: Saude!
