The Best of Argentina

This is the 12th event organized by a group of friends who enjoy world-class wines and exuberant dishes. Each tasting is organized around a theme whether it be a wine region, grape varietal, or a particular cuisine. This 12th rendition highlights the wines and foods of Argentina known for its beef asados and full-body red wines. The wines showcased two of the most prominent bodegas in Mendoza, namely Bodega Catena Zapata and Achaval Ferrer. The food displayed a selection meats and offal from beef grilled over a quebracho fire at low temperature. The main entree was a rack of Beef ribs grilled in the traditional Argenitinian style, over low fire and sprinkled with Salmuera from time to time. For dessert, we showcased the very popular and outstanding Rogue River Blue from Rogue Creamery in Oregon, USA.

The sides: Papas al plomo, Molleja, Morcilla, y Salchicha


The Asado


The wines were organized in 4 flights starting with Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon '10, then Achaval Ferrer Finca Mirador '08, then Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino '08, and finishing with the delectable Ch. La Tour Blanche Sauternes '03.



The cheese


The sybarites

Bodega Catena Zapata is run by Nicolas Catena, a PhD in Economics from UC Berkeley and his daughter Laura, an Emergency Room physician with degrees from Harvard and Stanford. Together they manage a string of high elevation vineyards running parallel to the Andes in the region of Mendoza.

Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon is made from small, highly selected estate grown vineyard lots at different elevations in Mendoza. From the blend of these components emerges a wine of unique character that has balance, concentration and a strong varietal identity. Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from Lot 3 of the La Pirámide vineyard, located in Agrelo (3117 ft elevation) and Lot 3 from the Domingo vineyard, located in Villa Bastias (3675 ft elevation). This wine undergoes a demanding selection process in both the vineyard and the winery.

Le Piramide Vineyard near Agrelo



Vineyard lots are harvested at different times to ensure optimal natural acidity and moderate alcohol levels. Whole berries are hand loaded into small format fermentation bins and 225-500 L barrels; lots are treated individually; fermentation and maceration last for 16 – 35 days. Wild yeasts. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrel. Aged for 18-24 months, depending on the vineyard and harvest time. French oak.

VINEYARDS
Harvest time varies depending on each lot's soil composition. Harvest time can vary by several weeks between one lot and another within the same vineyard.
- La Pirámide Vineyard, Block 3: 3,117 ft (950 m) elevation. Deep alluvial loam with 30% clay that decreases soil temperature by 35,6ºF (2ºC) in average.
Plant selection: Selección Mendoza.
- Domingo Vineyard, Block 2: 3,675 ft (1,120 m) elevation. Surface is completely covered with gravel. Alluvial topsoil is loamy with limestone deposits at 11,8 inches (30cm).
Plant selection: Clone 7, Clone 169, Mt. Eden and Selección Mendoza.
- Nicasia Vineyard, Block 2: 3,593 ft (1,095 m) elevation. Very shallow loamy soil with surface gravel and gravelly (large stones) dry river bed subsoil - optimal drainage.
Plant selection: Clone 169, Mt. Eden and Selección Mendoza.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Winemaker: Alejandro Vigil
Varietal: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 14.0 %
Total Acidity: 6.30 grams / liter in tartaric
pH: 3.63
Unfined and unfiltered
Food pairings: Veal Ragoût with Olives and Sweet Peppers

• 2010 Bodega Catena Zapata Cabernet Sauvignon Catena Alta Historic Rows 93 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza

  Dark full body red color with lots of purple on the edges. Intense aroma of ripe black fruits, almost compote-like, with gentle new oak vanillin. Palate is harmonious fruit-forward with nice depth and medium spiced finish. This is a beautiful wine with very soft tannins. Drinking very well presently.

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Argentinians Santiago Achával Becu and Manuel Ferrer Minetti have teamed up with Italian winemaker Robert Cipresso and founded Achaval Ferrer in 1998. They strive to craft wines of the highest quality that show off the grapes and terroir of the region. They ferment their wine in giant cement tanks and then age in oak barrels.

Bodega Achaval Ferrer, Finca Mirador, Lujan de Cuyo


Wine Fact Sheet

• 2008 Achával-Ferrer Malbec Finca Mirador 94 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza

  Deep dark and very muscular wine. Intense bouquet of pitch black fruits with saline and smoke notes. Palate is rich and bold with lots of dark fruit but more classic in style when compared to the Catena Alta CS. The tannins are broad and suggestive of the wine's youth. Finish is medium to long with impeccable power. Hold it for another 5-7 years and you will be rewarded. 94+

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This wine represents more than a single vintage. It reflects a family’s century-long journey to produce an Argentine Malbec that can stand with the great wines of the world. Malbec Argentino is a blend of Catena Zapata’s historic Malbec vineyards, Adrianna and Nicasia. The wine is made from a meticulous vine selection within the best, historic rows of these family estate vineyards.

Adrianna Vineyard, Gualtallary


Nicasia Vineyard, La Consulta


VINIFICATION:
De-stemmed, whole berry fruit is hand loaded into 225 liter new French oak barrels; 100% barrel fermented for seamless oak integration; low fermentation temperatures extract intense aromas; all cap management done by hand for soft, gentle flavor and tannin extraction; alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrel leaves considerable lees and sediment.

VINTAGE:
The 2008 vintage shows exceptional levels of concentration and complexity. Climate conditions were exceptionally dry. This caused the physiological ripening of sugars to accelerate but the phenological ripening of polyphenols to slow down. In late January, some precipitation moved in which lowered temperatures and brought the physiological and phenological ripening processes back into synchronization. April has been dry and very cool. The grapes still on the vine are developing very nicely and will be harvested in excellent sanitary conditions, with exceptional levels of concentration and complexity.

VINEYARDS:
Adrianna Vineyard, Gualtallary district 4757 feet elevation
Nicasia vineyard, La Consulta district 3593 feet elevation

Winemaker: Alejandro Vigil
Varietal: 100% Malbec
Alcohol: 14 %
Total acidity: 6,2
PH: 3,6
Apellation: Mendoza, Argentina
Food pairings: Lamb Chops with Spinach and Chèvre

• 2008 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino 95 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza

  Wine of the night for many, but a close tie to the Achaval Mirador '08. This Malbec shows dark full body color with plenty of violet. The beautiful bouquet displays very ripe black and blue fruits with violets, blackberries and blueberries. There is also a port-like sweetness accentuated by licorice resembling some of the best Australian Shiraz. Palate is muscular with thick long-ageing tannins and beautiful medium to long finish with fruits, spices, and oak. This is excellent stuff with another 10 years to maturity, and a generous amount of fruit to shine in the years to come. 95+

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Château La Tour Blanche, or La Tour-Blanche, is a sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé (French, “First Growth”) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Sauternes appellation in Gironde, in the region of Graves, the winery is located in the commune of Bommes. Records date the estate's origins to the 18th century, and connect them to Jean Saint-Marc du Latourblanche, treasurer-general to Louis XIV. Following the French Revolution, the estate was owned by Pierre Pécherie, but a later owner, the German Frederic Focke raised the reputation of the winery, and was for a period credited with bringing the tradition of sweet white wine to Sauternes from his Rhine origins.[1] After the rewarding outcome of the 1855 Classification and Focke's death, the estate was eventually acquired by Daniel "Osiris" Iffla who among several patriotic acts, testamented La Tour Blanche to the State upon his death in 1907, on the condition it would become an agricultural college.[1] From 1911, the La Tour Blanche School of Viticulture and Oenology has been responsible for education and training of wine industry professionals, as well as running La Tour Blanche as a classed winery.
The estate contains 65 hectares with grape varieties of 83% Sémillon, 12% Sauvignon blanc and 5% Muscadelle, as well as a smaller cultivation of the red grape varieties Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Annual production averages 4,000 cases of La Tour Blanche, in addition to the Second wine Les Charmilles de La Tour Blanche, annually averaging 1,250 cases.[1]

In smaller quantities, the estate produces the dry white wine Les Jardins de Thinoy, the dry white wine Isis, the demi-sec Osiris, and the red wine Cru de Cinquet.

Ch. La Tour Blanche, Sauternes

• 2003 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Beautifully paired with a blue cheese from Rogue Creamery in Oregon. Richly concentrated gold color. Strong complex botyrized nose with honey nectar of yellow fruits. Palate is perfectly balanced between sweetness and acidity imparting power and harmony at the same time. Given the torrid year, this impeccable balance is all the more impressive. A real gem and will plenty of runway left. 94+

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