Travels in wine country: Argentina comes to our doorstep

 By John Schreiner

February 12, 2009

The venerable Bodegas Santa Ana was on my itinerary during a tour of Argentine wineries last spring but in the crush of subsequent events, I never wrote the profile.

Memories of the visit returned during a recent new product salon hosted in Vancouver by the Import Vintners & Spirits Association. The offerings included not just familiar (to me) wines from Santa Ana but a host of other Argentine wines. The profile of Argentina wine is definitely rising, especially in the current economy where consumers want value in their wine purchases.

One of the most astonishing values in the room was the FuZion brand from Familia Zuccardi, a Mendoza winery founded in 1963 and still run by the founding family. Two wines are offered to this market, both for $8.99. FuZion 2008 Chenin Torrontés blends the high-acid Chenin Blanc with the low-acid Torrontés  to produce a wine that is floral and has refreshing melon flavours. FuZion 2008 Shiraz Malbec is a soft, easy-drinking red. I scored both 87 points.

If Zuccardi had been on the schedule last year, I would also have made an earlier acquaintance with a red grape variety called Caladoc. This is a cross of Grenache and Malbec developed by a French research station. I don’t know how long Zuccardi has been growing the variety in Argentina. Their agent in Vancouver is offering a 2007 Caladoc at an affordable $17.99. It is a generous, full-bodied red with attractive black cherry notes. 88 points.

I was pleased to see wines from Chakana at the recent Vancouver tasting. This small family winery, also near Mendoza, was on the itinerary but I never got there because my organizer screwed up the appointment.

Fortunately, Chakana is one of several wineries represented here by Patagonia Imports Ltd., a Vancouver wine agency run by two energetic young Argentines, Ricardo Revello and Lucila Planas.

Their offerings included a Chakana 2008 Syrah (listed at $14.99) and a Chakana 2007 Sauvignon Blanc (not yet in the liquor stores). These are excellent values again. The Syrah (87 points) is a wonderfully dark, brooding red with hints of leather, tar, prunes and earth. The Sauvignon Blanc (87 points) has grapefruit aromas and tangy flavours of grapefruit and citrus rind.

Ricardo and Lucilo also represent Bodegas Familia Schroeder, a seven-year-old winery from Patagonia, a rising wine region almost 1,000 miles south of Mendoza (which is why I did not get there). The Schroeder wines, which can be found in private stores, generally are priced between $20 and $25. The table wines sell under the Saurus label.

The most unique of the Schoeder wines is Deseado ($24), a sparkling wine made with the spicy Torrontés grape. The wine is comparable to a sparkling wine from Asti, with fruit flavours that explode on the palate and then linger forever. 90 points.

Another discovery at this trade tasting were the wines of Valle de la Puerta, a winery established in 1994 in La Rioja (about 1,000 miles north of Mendoza, which is why I did not get there either). There are only five wineries in La Rioja, one of them a co-operative and one owned by a former president of Argentina.

Andrew Noble, the winery’s vice-president of sales, is trying to get a foothold in this market with a pair of $12.50 wines. One is a delicious Torrontés, a white that seduces with a floral, spicy aroma and with a fruity palate and then surprises with a crisply dry finish (88 points). The other wine is a rare Argentina Merlot, a tasty wine with blueberry notes.

Compared with these wineries, Santa Ana is a pioneer of Argentine winegrowing. The company was started in 1891, has been a major supplier in the domestic market but only started exporting 20 years ago. The charming Mendoza area winery, while thoroughly modernized, has kept some of its old vats and production equipment. These give the winery the ambiance of a museum.

In this market, Santa Ana wines are sold under the label, Casa de Campo. (A Canadian winery had tied up the Santa Ana name before the Argentina winery entered this market.)

New here from Santa Ana is the Casa de Campo 2007 Torrontés Reserve ($16), a fine expression of the variety, with flavours of spice and pineapple and with the typically crisp finish (87).

The Casa de Campo 2007 Chardonnay ($14) is good value, a fruit-forward wine with citrus flavours set on a hint of toast (87).

Argentina’s best red is Malbec (even if I did taste some fine Cabernet Sauvignons as well at Santa Ana) and this winery’s top vineyard is called La Mascota. The Casa de Campo La Mascota Malbec 2007 ($22) is dark, firm and full-bodied, with flavours of spicy plums and cherries and with an appealing earthiness. This wine deserves to be cellared a few years, as good as it is now (89).

John Schreiner has become a fan of the wines of Argentina.

goodgrog@shaw.ca

                                                                         
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