Travels in Argentine Wine Country: Trivento Bodegas y Viñedos

By John Schreiner

June 13, 2008

This winery’s name translates loosely as “three winds” – a name inspired by the different winds that sweep across the vineyards of Mendoza throughout the year and are part of the viticultural cycle.

There is the Polar wind that comes up from the Antarctic each winter, helping the vines into dormancy so they can be pruned for the next season.

There is the Zonda wind, which flows down from the Andes in spring, bringing milder temperatures. This wind is hot and dry and is said to be “very aggressive” but it kick starts the vines back to life.

And there is the Sudestada, or south-eastern, wind that blows from the east from mid-spring through to autumn, occasionally bringing rain to the otherwise quite dry vineyards.

“We wouldn’t be Mendocinos is we didn’t have these three winds,” says Victoria Acosta, one of Trivento’s public relations officials.

Trivento was launched in 1996 by Concha y Toro, Chile’s largest wine group. Recognizing that Argentina’s strengths in wine complement those of Chile, Concha y Toro has invested close to US$60 million in the Trivento project. That includes acquiring and planting about 1,300 hectares of vineyards and building wineries equipped with the newest and best of winemaking technology.

Last year, Trivento sold about US$40 million of wine, two-thirds of which was to export markets on 100 other countries. From a standing start 12 years ago, the winery has come a long way. Now, it produces about 28 million litres of wine annually.

Argentina’s greatest strength in wine is the Malbec grape. “Our Malbec is the original Malbec,” chief winemaker Federico Galdeano says.

What he means by that is this: Malbec (along with other varietals) was imported from France to Argentina some time around 1850. That was before the root louse (or phyloxera) arrived in Europe from North America and practically wiped out the vineyards of France and elsewhere. It was 1870 or so before the French started figuring out how to deal with the root louse. By the time it made its way to Argentina, the Argentines knew how to control it.

Meanwhile, the pre-phyloxera Malbec vines adapted to the terroir of Argentina better than they had in France. “When the  Malbec came here, it fell in love with the South,” is how Acosta puts it.

Galdeano says that there are now about 90 clones of Malbec in the Mendoza wine region, most of them named for the individual growers who nurtured them in their various vineyards over the years. He has a good selection of these clones growing in each of Trivento’s eight vineyards, allowing him to sculp superb wines by blending from these vineyards.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Currently, his flagship red is Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec, which is listed in British Columbia at $26 a bottle. “When I show this wine,” Galdeano says, “I shut up. The wine speaks for itself.”

It is made with intensely flavoured fruit from low-cropped vines. All the wine is aged for a year in barrel (half new, half one-year old) and then spends more time aging in bottle before release. The vintage now on the market is 2005.

It is a wine with a very deep, dark hue. It is a powerful wine, with aromas of vanilla, plums and liquorice and flavours of black cherries and spice. The structure is bold, firm enough to give the wine aging ability although it is drinking well already. My score: 91

Malbec is often involved in red blends as well. The Trivento Reserve Cabernet Malbec ($13 in B.C.) is an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. This is an appealing wine, especially for the money, with juicy flavours of plum, cherry and blackberry. 87

Trivento Amado Sur ($15)  is 75% Malbec, with 15% Syrah and 10% Bonardo. This is another wine with easy appeal, soft and juicy with flavours of plums and black cherries. 88

Galdeano believes that Syrah is also doing well in Argentina. The winery is releasing one under its Golden Reserve label in July. Currently available in British Columbia is Trivento Reserve Syrah ($13). Two-thirds of the blend was aged in American oak. The wine, almost black in colour, shows classic Syrah flavours of leather, tar, plums and prunes. The long tannins give the wine a rich, full-bodied weight. 88

To judge from the Trivento wines that Galdeano showed, the winery’s agents in Canada should be bringing in other varietals as well. Trivento’s Golden Reserve Chardonnay, 100% barrel-fermented, is a luscious display of tropical flavours that got 91 points from me. It was one of the best Argentina Chardonnays that I tasted there.

Trivento, a short taxi ride from Mendoza, is open to visitors by appointment. It is worth making the effort, even more so next year. The winery currently is building a rather grand visitor centre.

John Schreiner recently visited leading wineries in Argentina.

goodgrog@shaw.ca

                                                                         
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