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Visiting Mendoza - 12/28/2013 10:47:59 PM   
puppetclause

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 10/9/2010
From: Los Angeles, CA
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We're heading to Argentina for a month or so, and I'm going to try and finagle 8 or 9 days of wine tasting from the wife. I understand the majority of wine made in Argentina stays in Argentina, so it's a bit difficult to find bottles for sale here in the US to try first. Any ideas on wineries to visit?
Post #: 1
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 12/29/2013 6:38:03 AM   
wineismylife

 

Posts: 6494
Joined: 11/7/2006
From: Arlington, TX
Status: offline 		Jeff,

When I can I'll go through my notes and give you my recommendations.

A whole month? Is this all play time?

_____________________________

Joe

Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone.

MyBlog @ http://www.wineismylife.net/

(in reply to puppetclause)
Post #: 2
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 12/30/2013 7:04:53 AM   
Bob in NC

 

Posts: 514
Joined: 1/17/2009
From: Charlotte, NC
Status: offline 		Are you planning on driving to the wineries yourself, or will you use a guide? I strongly recommend having a guide. If you do want a guide, I highly recommend, Javier Eppens, he is great (javiereppens at yahoo dot com dot ar). He'll get you into all the wineries. You tell him all the wineries you want to visit, plus he'll also recommend others.

We went to 20+ wineries in Mendoza about 2 years ago. Here the wineries where we purchased wines from and recommend visiting:
- Achával-Ferrer (great single vineyard wines)
- Gimenez Riili (In Uco Valley. If I only had one Malbec in my cellar, it would be his grand reserve)
- Mendel (a solid malbec producer)
- Alta Vista (a must - powerful malbecs)
- Bodega la Azul (a small winery in Uco Valley making great malbecs)
- Conalbi Grinberg
- Dolium (Another one of our favorites, this would be the second malbec in our cellar.)
- Carmelo Patti (a classic and like no other malbec you have had before)

There is a shipping service in Mendoza that will ship back all the wines you purchase. The name of the service escapes me at the moment, but you'll find out about it while you are there.

_____________________________

Bob

(in reply to wineismylife)
Post #: 3
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 12/30/2013 11:40:59 PM   
hankj

 

Posts: 4672
Joined: 6/26/2008
From: Seattle, WA
Status: offline 		Ruca Malen is scenic makes nice wines and is a good place to eat a filet at lunch.

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There are those who'd call us a bunch of sots but we don't see ourselves like that. We see ourselves as hobbyists. - Kevin Barry

(in reply to Bob in NC)
Post #: 4
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 12/31/2013 12:57:15 AM   
puppetclause

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 10/9/2010
From: Los Angeles, CA
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quote:

ORIGINAL: wineismylife

A whole month? Is this all play time?


sure is

(in reply to wineismylife)
Post #: 5
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 12/31/2013 12:58:35 AM   
puppetclause

 

Posts: 717
Joined: 10/9/2010
From: Los Angeles, CA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Bob in NC

Are you planning on driving to the wineries yourself, or will you use a guide? I strongly recommend having a guide. If you do want a guide, I highly recommend, Javier Eppens, he is great (javiereppens at yahoo dot com dot ar). He'll get you into all the wineries. You tell him all the wineries you want to visit, plus he'll also recommend others.

We went to 20+ wineries in Mendoza about 2 years ago. Here the wineries where we purchased wines from and recommend visiting:
- Achával-Ferrer (great single vineyard wines)
- Gimenez Riili (In Uco Valley. If I only had one Malbec in my cellar, it would be his grand reserve)
- Mendel (a solid malbec producer)
- Alta Vista (a must - powerful malbecs)
- Bodega la Azul (a small winery in Uco Valley making great malbecs)
- Conalbi Grinberg
- Dolium (Another one of our favorites, this would be the second malbec in our cellar.)
- Carmelo Patti (a classic and like no other malbec you have had before)

There is a shipping service in Mendoza that will ship back all the wines you purchase. The name of the service escapes me at the moment, but you'll find out about it while you are there.



Thanks for the recs Bob. We'll definately be using a guide, from what i've read it's kinda a must have. I'll hit up Javier when we figure out which days we'll be wine tasting.

(in reply to Bob in NC)
Post #: 6
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 12/31/2013 5:40:50 AM   
wineismylife

 

Posts: 6494
Joined: 11/7/2006
From: Arlington, TX
Status: offline 		I might be able to get you the name of a backup driver. Ours was really good too. He spoke really good English. Had zero problems navigating. When our flight was late and we missed our first and most important appointment he took us to our second appointment and while we were inside relaxing he completely rearranged our itinerary via his personal cell to get us into every appointment we desired plus extras.

_____________________________

Joe

Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone.

MyBlog @ http://www.wineismylife.net/

(in reply to puppetclause)
Post #: 7
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 12/31/2013 7:57:21 AM   
mc2 wines

 

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From: NYC
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Bob in NC

There is a shipping service in Mendoza that will ship back all the wines you purchase. The name of the service escapes me at the moment, but you'll find out about it while you are there.


Not sure if this is the one, but pretty sure WineFlite ships from Argentina back to the US

(in reply to Bob in NC)
Post #: 8
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 12/31/2013 9:51:18 AM   
wineismylife

 

Posts: 6494
Joined: 11/7/2006
From: Arlington, TX
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quote:

ORIGINAL: mc2 wines
quote:

ORIGINAL: Bob in NC
There is a shipping service in Mendoza that will ship back all the wines you purchase. The name of the service escapes me at the moment, but you'll find out about it while you are there.

Not sure if this is the one, but pretty sure WineFlite ships from Argentina back to the US


That's one for sure. Now that you say that I remember seeing their literature when we were at Bressia.

_____________________________

Joe

Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone.

MyBlog @ http://www.wineismylife.net/

(in reply to mc2 wines)
Post #: 9
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 12/31/2013 10:04:32 AM   
Old Doug

 

Posts: 8279
Joined: 5/12/2011
From: Atlanta, Georgia, US
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Bob in NC

We went to 20+ wineries in Mendoza about 2 years ago.


That's the way you do it.

You play your guitar on the MTV.

(in reply to wineismylife)
Post #: 10
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 12/31/2013 11:18:20 AM   
wineismylife

 

Posts: 6494
Joined: 11/7/2006
From: Arlington, TX
Status: offline 		Here are the wineries we visited during our brief weekend stay:

Close to Mendoza proper:

* Norton
* Bressia
* Achaval-Ferrer
* Decero
* Melipal
* Carmelo Patti

Uco Valley an hour or two away:

* Salentein
* Azul
* Andeluna

You asked about stuff you can't get here. I understand Catena has some bottlings that are excellent that never leave the country. I couldn't visit but my buddy futronic did when he was in Argentina a month before us and highly recommended it.

Norton - OK wines believe it or not. Really nice grounds, facility, tour and beautiful view of the mountain. The restaurant on premise served a really good lunch. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Bressia - small boutique operator. The one place I wanted to hit and was not disappointed. Very nice sparkling wines that are a little hard to find here. Pretty good still wines. For a few extra shekels they'll put together a nice cheese plate and such for you. Left with a few bottles. Owner's daughter toured us. Beautiful lady.

Achaval-Ferrer - some of the best wines I tasted. Surroundings are nothing to get excited about. One of the few places that I felt like they put on the old American styled sales pitch. Left with a couple of bottles anyway of my choosing.

Decero - one of the most beautiful wineries and views we saw while there. Producing some interesting varietals like the Petit Verdot I dragged home. Nice stop. Cute chick touring and pouring.

Melipal - pretty property. Decent wines but didn't bother to buy any. They have a restaurant on premises and they served one of the best multi-course lunches we had while there.

Carmelo Patti - Garagiste kind of place in town. Literally in a warehouse district. Italian guy making Malbec in what I would say is Italian style. Loved the wines and conversation with the guy although no place to really sit while tasting. Dragged a few bottles home. Took one to an offline in October with a lot of CT guys and most loved it.

Salentein - beautiful property and tour. Stunning views. Solid wines. Brought some back. Definitely the one place I'd return to in the Uco.

Azul - average wines at best. Went here primarily to grab lunch between appointments. Even though you're basically sitting outside in the middle of the desert (their front yard) next to the highway some of the best native cooking we had while there. FWIW. Can be skipped although we enjoyed the lunch.

Andeluna - Pretty facility. Casual sit down tasting environment on the couches in front of the fireplace. Pretty good wines. Pretty good sized line up as well. Some interesting varietals including the two bottles of Cabernet Franc I dragged back. Just noticed I paid $50.00 each for those bottles and on CT they've skyrocketed to $242.00 per bottle. Got to be a mistake.

_____________________________

Joe

Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone.

MyBlog @ http://www.wineismylife.net/

(in reply to Old Doug)
Post #: 11
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 11/21/2023 9:55:14 AM   
Stoic Warrior

 

Posts: 20
Joined: 2/28/2021
Status: offline 		This is an old thread but as I am going to Argentina in mid January, I shall resurrect it and seek an update to the same question .... anyone with current advice or tips on visiting Mendoza? We will be there 4 nights.

Also, we will be in Buenos Aires for about 10 days, split before and after the side tripe to Mendoza. I understand it is the 2nd largest wine consumption city per capita, behind Paris. Any tips or thoughts on BsAs also appreciated.

(in reply to wineismylife)
Post #: 12
RE: Visiting Mendoza - 11/21/2023 10:08:51 AM   
Sourdough

 

Posts: 1883
Joined: 12/23/2013
From: Austin, Texas
Status: offline 		My one rec is Catena Zapatista. I have NOT been to Mendoza but I have fished there five times and I am hooked on CZ’s Nicosia and Alexandria bottlings. My fave Argentinian wines.

Have a great trip!

< Message edited by Sourdough -- 11/21/2023 10:09:40 AM >

(in reply to Stoic Warrior)
Post #: 13
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