I have been a fan of Malbec for some time. I like the fruity character that it tends to have, and you can still fine good cheap Malbecs in the US. I was certainly excited to head to Mendoza to see the wineries where it is made.
We arrived in Mendoza after a very hot bus ride from Santiago over the Andes as the bus's air conditioner was broken. Despite the heat, it was a beautiful ride over the Andes with views of Cerro Aconcagua (the highest mountain in the Americas, and the highest mountain outside Asia). Interestingly, this area is also where Seven Years in Tibet was filmed.
Mendoza is hot and dry and it was 105 degrees when we arrived. We got settled in our hostel and checked out the town. We were expecting the town to be more catered to the wine industry with wine shops and boutiques on every corner. However, while Mendoza has a few pedestrian malls, a couple of wine shops, and a fancy Hyatt, it is a pretty typical Argentinian town.
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We, of course, were here for the wine. Jim is certainly the beer connoisseur, but I prefer red wine and so I was excited to visit the vineyards. We checked out the options for wine tasting. A great resource for the area is the gringo wine magazine Wine Republic that can be found at most wine shops. We found the most economical way to do it was by taking a bus out to the Maipu area and rent a bike to tour the vineyards. Maipu is great because you can get a feel for all types of wine making processes from quaint historic wineries, modern boutique wineries and the huge industrial wineries.
We went to what was the most advertised bike rental place for the area, and got some pretty shoddy bikes. (FYI - The next day when we went we rented from Mr. Hugo, who is a fantastically friendly guy and whose bikes are far superior and gives you as much water and wine as you can consume!)
The map we were given showed Club Tapiz, which was one of the vineyards Wine Republic said has a great tour and tasting. It is also the one furthest away from the bike rental place and "wine road" so we decided to hit it first to make sure we got there. It was not a very pleasant ride as we were kind of on a highway to get out there. Also, my bike's tire started to go flat, so it took more than usual effort to get out there. When we did arrive, we found out that this was not where they gave tours, but instead was a gorgeous hotel surrounded by vineyards. We were very hot and tired and they were very nice to invite us in to their restaurant (a refurbished 1890-built villa) Terruño for a glass of Tapiz wine. I had their Malbec, and Jim tried the Cabernet Sauvignon. As an accompaniment, Terruño provided Malbec infused fruits and almonds which were fantastic.
After our wine at Tapiz, the security at Club Tapiz tried to pump up my bike tire and we tried to get back to the main wine road. Jim was, of course, amazing and rode the bike with the bad tire as it slowly deflated again. Luckily we made it back to the main area and asked the guard at VistaAndes winery to call the bike rental place for a new bike. While we waited, we walked across the street to walk through some vineyards and took some pictures.
Armed with a new bike with a hopefully better tire, we headed to CarinaE. CarinaE is a small boutique winery run by a french couple who retired and purchased a vineyard that had been shut down for some time. The owner is an astronomy buff and the winery is named for a constellation that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere and only during the grape harvest. The vineyards are 80-85 years old when the first owner established the winery. This winery had a small intimate tour and tasting outside on their patio. We tried their 100% Malbec Rose, their young Malbec (bottle aged only) and their Octans (another constellation) which is a Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon blend where the Cabernet Sauvignon has aged for 12 months in French oak casks. It is available only at the vineyard, and was one of Jim's and my favorite wines we tried that day.
After CarinaE we headed to Bodega Familia Di Tommaso. This is one of Mendoza's oldest wineries built in 1869 and still has the original brick built tanks and cellars. The site has been named an Argentinian historic monument, so sadly they had to cease production of the wine in the original tanks. However, it does make for beautiful pictures, and a insight into turn of the century wine production. At the end of the tour through the bodega, we tried Di Tommaso's young bottle aged Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon and Familia Di Tommaso Roble Malbec which was barrel aged in French and American oak. Doing these tastings we were starting to be able to discern flavors in the wines and which we liked. Both of us prefer the wine that has been barrel aged (as I think most prefer as it is the more sought after) as it has more oak, vanilla and just more rounded flavors.
We finally ended our tour with Tempus Alba which has a brand new fancy bodega and tasting area. This winery has the new modern equipment for wine making even though it is a third generation family owned winery.
There we tried another trio of wines ending with their reserve Tempus Pleno which is a 60% Malbec - 40% Cabernet Sauvignon blend aged 13 months in new oak barrels. This was probably our second favorite wine of the tours that day. It was already 6pm, and we tried to go to Almacén del Sur (an organic farm with a restaurant recommended by our friend Heather) but it only serves lunch, so we decided to head home and come back after resting for a day.
The next day we explored Mendoza, and that night went to The Wines which is a tasting room in downtown Mendoza. I thought I was ordering a nice, but cheap Achaval Ferrer wine, but they accidentally served me the Achaval Ferrer Finca Mirador 2007, which scored 94 points from both Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator. It was a REALLY good wine, and luckily it was on that night's "half price" glass list.
The next day we headed back Maipu and started off at Bodega La Rural which makes Rutini wines. Here there is a cool wine museum with winemaking tools from the origins on the Mendoza wineries including cow hide presses and brass bottlers. There we tried the Rutini Malbec aged in French and American oak for 12 months. Another great wine.
We did not want to miss Almacén del Sur, so we headed there next. They make gourmet sauces and spreads, all organic, grown at their farm. They have a tasting lunch using their products in a large casona built in 1888. The lunch was amazing. There were so many courses I can barely remember them all. Lamb, shrimp, stuffed fresh peppers, braised ribs....
We left Almacén del Sur totally satisfied and full and headed up to our last winery, Trapiche. Trapiche is the biggest producer of wine in Argentina. Their tour is actually in a refurbished old winery that shut down in the 1970s when people were not consuming as much wine. They now are trying to make high end totally organic wines at the spot. This is the one vineyard that encouraged you to actually try their grapes off the vine! We had a nice tasting of their young Malbec, a Syrah and a very sweet dessert wine.
After the tasting we noticed that a storm was approaching, so we returned the bikes and headed back to the hostel.
We left for Santiago the next day, and were sad realizing that it was the last time on our trip to be in Argentina.
Hi Leslie:
ReplyDeleteScott and I are going to a wedding in Santiago and we are taking a detour to Mendoza. I can't wait. Looks like you guys are having a blast. Love, Jennifer