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Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

A wine blog written by the experts from The International Wine of the Month Club

Malbec: Born for the Barbecue

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Barbecue Food And Glass Of Red Wine HeroFor years I found Malbec to be one of the most overrated red wines on the American market, not because Malbec makes inherently inferior wine (nothing could be further from the truth), but because for too long there were so few really good Malbecs on store shelves to choose from. With the exception of Catena, Alta Vista, Archaval-Ferrer and a few other producers, most Malbecs struck me as being no more than a one trick pony – one dimensional wines that provided a jolt but little else. Well, all that has changed. Today, there are many excellent Malbec wines to choose from and one need not have an expense account to enjoy delicious Malbec.

Although Argentina is the major purveyor of Malbec, Malbec (mahl-bec) is one of the original red wine grapes of Bordeaux, where it is also known as Cot or Pressac. While Malbec plays a largely supporting role today in Bordeaux, where it adds color and body to the region’s Merlot and Cabernet blends, it remains one of the six legal grape varieties permitted in red Bordeaux (along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Carmenère). However, south of Bordeaux in the region of Cahors, Malbec still reigns supreme. It remains the chief grape in what historically has been called the “black wine” of Cahors.

Despite its deep French roots, Argentina has come to fore as the contemporary champion of Malbec, where the varietal reigns as the most important grape variety, both in terms of quality and quantity. The best Argentine Malbecs and Malbec blends offer considerable flavor and body at a relative young age, yet they remain age worthy wines capable of true distinction. They also make great summertime wines as any Argentine will attest. Born for the barbecue, what better red wine can one find for burgers, steaks, lamb, pork chops, barbecued-chicken and grilled vegetables than Malbec?

Although far from an exhaustive list, Graffito, Luca, Mendel, La Posta, and Casarena are consummate Malbec producers that consistently fashion excellent affordable Malbecs. One should also not overlook the top wines from France’s Cahors appellation where Château Armandière and other like-minded producers are making world-class Malbec. So why not fire up the grill, call friends over for a barbecue, and pour a glass of good Malbec?

Salud!
Don

Argentina: Where Quality and Quantity Abound

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Argentina MendozaArgentina has long been one of the world’s leading producers and consumers of wine. Presently, this sprawling nation, which contains some of the world’s most diverse geography, including tropical jungle, barren desert, towering snow-capped mountains and windswept deserted islands that herald Antarctica, is the world’s fifth largest producer of wine and the planet’s third largest consumer of the fruit of the vine, placing it just behind Italy and France. As an interesting comparison, Argentina consumes more than five times the amount of wine per capita as does the United States, (10.5 gallons per capita in Argentina versus just 2.00 gallons per head in the United States). Moreover, Argentina is no longer just a source of good plentiful, everyday plonk; it is increasingly a treasure chest of world-class red and white wines.

Although Argentina has cultivated the vine since the arrival of the first Spanish missionaries in the 16th century, the modern tale of wine in Argentina really begins with the Italian migration of the late 19th century. Sparked by political strife and economic stagnation in their homeland, many Italian growers and winemakers headed for Argentina. Settling in the dry rain-starved Mendoza at the base of the Andes, Italian immigrants began to sluice the snow waters from the mountains onto their vineyards, causing the desert to bloom. In less than a century, the Mendoza, a state approximately the size of Illinois, has become Argentina’s leading wine producing region, accounting for the vast majority of the nation’s wine production and more than half of all the wine made in South America.

Driven by Argentina’s seemingly insatiable thirst for wine, as well as the burgeoning worldwide demand for fine wine, especially well-made reds, the “Mighty Mendoza” now comprises more than 700,000 acres of vines, and is still growing. The vast majority of wine from the arid, nearly insect-free environment of Mendoza is red, but the quality and variety of both white and red wines continues to grow exponentially. The recent attention to quality is much to the delight of savvy North American consumers, who are now gobbling up the wine wares of Argentina at an ever-increasing rate.

Since the early 1980s, an infusion of domestic and international talent has helped to transform the Mendoza. With the likes of Achaval Ferrer, the Catena family and their scions Luca and Tikal, Roberto de la Mota at Mendel, Paul Hobbs, Jacques and Francois Lurton, and small boutique producers such as Graffito, Argentina and the “Mighty Mendoza” have finally come into their own. This once sleeping giant now houses a treasure trove of fine wines, with the wonders of Malbec in the vanguard. Excellent Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are also being fashioned there, and in recent years Argentina has made great strides in the production of white wines, too, most notably with Chardonnay, Semillon and Torrontes. Viva Argentina!

Salud!
Don

Summer’s Best Wines: Beyond Chardonnay

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Rose WineSummer’s best wines are typically the ones in my glass, and yours, too, I hope. That’s at least the way it should be, but how to find the best summertime wines is a matter of preference and each wine lover’s ultimate quest for summer’s ideal wine.

Chardonnay comes to many people’s minds by default as Chardonnay is the most cultivated white grape variety worldwide, but there are so many more great summertime wines from which to choose. Sauvignon Blanc with its crisp, herbal edge and refreshing acidity gets two thumbs up. And why not consider Sauvignon Gris, the darker skinned, rounder, more aromatic relative of Sauvignon Blanc? Chile fashions exciting Sauvignon Gris, with Casa Silva and Cousino Macul two of the finest producers of the varietal.

Bordeaux offers a dizzying array of pleasurable summertime drinking, too, with white wines from 100% Sauvignon Blanc to blends containing Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle. Chenin Blanc also deserves serious consideration as a summertime favorite. Vouvray Sec, the quintessential dry Chenin Blanc, from France’s Loire Valley, makes a wonderful warm weather companion. Racauderie Gautier and Vigneau-Chevreau are two reliable high quality Vouvray producers, though South Africa also fashions first rate Chenin Blanc. The newly released Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc strikes me as an especially fine, affordable version of South Africa’s premier white grape.

Torrontes, Argentina’s flagship white varietal, offers more exciting summer drinking, especially if one enjoys pronounced aromatics and a touch of exotica in a wine. Areyna from the mountains of Argentina crafts an aromatic, well-balanced Torrontes that can be enjoined with or without food.

Some other summertime favorites include beautiful crisp Italian white wines such as Gavi and Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Massone’s San Cristoforo Gavi and Le Calcinaie’s Vernaccia di San Gimignano constitute perennial favorites because of their fresh natural flavors, which quench the thirst, please the palate, and refresh the soul. And what would summer be like without an invigorating glass of Provençal rosé? Not a very good summer at all. I think I will pour myself a glass of Domaine Blaïs Côtes de Provence Rosé and think about my next favorite best summer wine, the one in my glass. Enjoy!

Mencia: Spain’s Other Great Red Varietal

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Purple Grapes on the VineThe regions of Spain have long been associated with great red wines, particularly the red wines of Rioja and Ribera del Duero from the iconic Tempranillo varietal, so much that other equally exciting indigenous varietals such as Garnacha (Grenache), Prieto Picudo and Mencia have been all but ignored until recently.

What is Mencia?

Mencia is a premium red Spanish grape varietal found primarily in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras appellations of northern Spain. Although the Mencia varietal was once considered by enologists to be the direct ancestor and precursor of Cabernet Franc, recent DNA testing has shown that this is not the case. Mencia and Cabernet Franc share some common characteristics, but not the same ancestry. It is now widely believed that Mencia and Portugal’s Jaen de Dão (Jaen for short) grape variety are one and the same. However, not everyone agrees. What we do know is that Mencia is an ancient varietal that has been around for quite some time. Bierzo’s original plantings of Mencia likely date to the earliest Roman settlers in the region, who cultivated the varietal two thousand years ago in what remains one of Europe’s most isolated wine regions. It is the grape’s isolation and not any inferior quality that caused it to be overlooked outside its ancestral home.

What is Bierzo?

Bierzo is a remote area of Galicia, Spain’s cool, windswept province astride the Atlantic. Certainly, it is the very isolation of the Bierzo that has allowed Mencia to survive and even thrive. Moreover, the average age of the hillside vines in Bierzo is quite old, which lends itself to the production of high-quality wines. Consequently, the wonderfully fruity, spicy, and wholly intriguing Mencia varietal has recently been discovered, or rather re-discovered, by modern legions of wine drinkers. They are no doubt intrigued by this unique viticultural entity we call Mencia, whose many attributes are accentuated by organic farming, low vineyard yields, and modern winemaking techniques practiced by Losada Vinos de Finca and other like-minded wineries whose emphasis is on quality rather than quantity. Since the 1990s, Mencia has steadily grown in popularity to the point where there are now more than 20,000 acres of Mencia vines being cultivated in Spain. Altos de Losada, Peza do Rei, and Casal Novo are three excellent producers whose Mencias are well worth seeking out.

Salud!
Don

The Varietal Connection: Who’s on First, What’s on Second

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If we were playing the old Abbot and Costello routine, Chardonnay would be on first, Cabernet on second, and no one would know who’s on third. Why? So many grape varietals, so little time!

Grape varietals are the individual types of grapes that find their way into the world’s wines. There are upwards of four thousand distinct grape varieties in the world, though the vast majority of wines we consume emanate from less than three-dozen of the world’s varietals from the species Vitis vinifera. Some of the world’s varietal names are easily recognizable like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, for example, while others are literally unknown to average consumers and serious tasters alike, names such as Bobal, Nosiola, Pais, Prieto Picudo, and thousands more.

In the New World, wines are often bottled under the name of their primary grape variety (a minimum of 75% of one grape variety must be present for varietal bottling in the United States, while most of the rest of the wine producing world requires 80% of a wine to be of a single varietal to be so labeled). Proprietary names are often used in the New World for blends that do not contain the minimum percentage of a single variety. In Europe, the finest wines are often blends of various grapes and are known primarily by geographic appellation rather than by their primary varietal (although this is changing; more and more French and Italian wines from less celebrated wine producing regions are being bottled with varietal names). As in the United States, other non-European wine countries like Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa bottle most wines under a varietal name, even sometimes by grape combinations such as Cabernet-Shiraz.

Whether a wine graces our table as a varietal or a generic offering (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chianti, Rioja, etc. are generic wines, as they are known by their place of origin rather than any grape variety) it should offer enjoyment and reflect in some way its place of origin. As for me, I am still trying to taste all four thousand or more of the world’s grape varieties, and then there are the thousands of distinct generic offerings from which to choose. So many wines, so very little time!

Salud!
Don

Rioja: Home to Spain’s Best Red Wine Bargains

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Rioja has been dubbed “a land of history, light and color, vines and wheat, and above all, people for whom friendship is the greatest possible treasure” by the Rioja Minister of Tourism. Rioja is all of this and more, a land etched by history and endowed by a special wine that shares the region’s name. Moreover, Rioja wine is as warm, friendly, and distinctive as the people who inhabit this unique land halfway between Spain’s capital and the towering Pyrenees Mountains. Rioja also enjoys a reputation as the most approachable and recognized name in great Spanish wine and the home of Spain’s best red wine bargains.

Vineyards have always influenced the history and character of the people in the Rioja. Long before France became a bastion of fine wine, the Romans had settled in Iberia and pushed inland from the Mediterranean to the headwaters of the Ebro River and its tiny tributary, Rio Oja, from which Rioja derives its name. In Rioja, the Romans found ideal conditions for the cultivation of Spain’s most important indigenous grape varietals, Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Graciano, and Garnacha (Grenache), which today constitute modern red Rioja. Given its long history for continuously producing fine red wines, Rioja not surprisingly received Spain’s first Denominaciones de Origen (D.O.) in 1933.

It is Rioja’s unique blend of red grapes, coupled with an often lavish hiatus in small oak barrels, which yields warm, truly dry, yet richly fruity red wines of great finesse and perfume, many of which can appear nearly immortal in great vintages. Although a few names in Rioja carry hefty price tags, the vast majority of red Rioja comes from 132,000 acres and three distinct zones (Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta, and Rioja Baja). These wines sell for far less than wines of comparable quality from elsewhere, making red Rioja one of the planet’s greatest red wine bargains.

Red Rioja comes in four basic styles: Joven, Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva. The amount of oak barrel aging, coupled with time in the bottle before release, determines the designation. These styles begin with Joven, which receives little or no time in oak barrels, and culminates with Gran Reserva, which matures in barrels for two or more years and cannot be sold before its fifth birthday.

The best bargains in Rioja are among the Joven, Crianza, and Reserva designations. Although many old Gran Reservas can be exceptional, others can appear dried out and lacking in fruit due to their extended stays in barrel. In America, Rioja Reservas reign supreme, having found the fine balance between freshness, complexity, and maturity with just the right patina of oak to please the American palate.

Salud!
Don

Saint-Émilion: Bordeaux at its Best

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Chateau Saint Georges Winery in
Saint Georges-Saint-Emilion

Saint-Émilion is Bordeaux’s most important wine town and the region’s hottest attraction. This walled, medieval village, perched atop a series of hills and surrounded by vines, is unquestionably the most beautiful wine village in all Bordeaux. Indeed, it is arguably the most beautiful wine village in all France. Nearly everything about Saint-Émilion is centered on wine; even the church in Saint-Émilion is a cellar. And lest you think that Saint-Émilion has just recently succumbed to contemporary commercialism or sold itself to the modern mania for all that is Bacchanalian, rest assured that very little has changed in principle in this village since antiquity: Saint-Émilion was founded by the Romans, who used it as a viticultural bastion in the burgeoning area they named Burdigala.

Interestingly, there are two distinct districts of Saint-Émilion, each possessing a special terroir. Both districts produce compelling red wines, but of a different sort. Typically, the côtes or hills upon the escarpment yield the fullest, slowest to mature wines of Saint-Émilion. Here the soil is nearly all limestone and the resulting wine is more apt to act like a great Cabernet based wine of the Médoc. The other distinct district of Saint-Émilion lies on the plateau adjoining Pomerol, where the soil is comprised of sand and gravel. Here the wines tend to be fleshier and quicker to mature. Each style is authentic Saint-Émilion, which allows the savvy consumer double the pleasure.

Merlot is the predominant grape of Saint-Émilion. Here Cabernet Franc and to a lesser extent Cabernet Sauvignon play important supporting roles. However, Saint-Émilion can be produced from Merlot alone or from any combination or percentage of the six traditional red Bordeaux grape varieties (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Carmenère). No commercial white wine is made in Saint-Émilion or is permitted to be sold as Saint-Émilion.

Many of the most illustrious Bordeaux wines hail from Saint-Émilion, including the legendary Château Cheval Blanc.

Salud!
Don

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