By Bill Zacharkiw for MontrealGazette.comInvited by Wines of Argentina, and in the fine company of Toronto-based master sommelier John Szabo, I spent 10 days in Argentina in November.
One of the challenges facing countries like Argentina is that its international image is defined largely by what it exports. So for most of us here in Quebec, Argentina is malbec -mostly inexpensive wines, ripe and alcoholic. There is a smattering of cabernet sauvignon and torrontes, but that's about it. I bet most people couldn't name which region the wines came from within the country. It is simply an Argentine wine.
As I wrote in last week's column, Argentina's vineyards cover a range of more than 2,000 kilo-metres, from the northernmost region of Salta to the southernmost, Patagonia. Within this great expanse are numerous regions, sub-regions and much more than malbec.
While I tasted wines from the entire country, we decided to limit our visit to two regions -the most important region in terms of quantity and exports, Mendoza, and the smallest, Patagonia.
As our trip began there, let's start with Patagonia.
Patagonia: big skies, lots of wind and really good wine
For those of you have spent a lot of time watching too many nature shows, mention Patagonia and your head is filled with images of snowcapped mountains, penguins and other cold-loving things. While that might be a certain Patagonia, the northern part of the region, where one finds the vineyards, is extremely flat. The climate is almost desert-like, receiving a mere 180mmof rainfallayear. Itiscooler than the rest of the country, and has large shifts between day and night temperatures.
What they also have in Patagonia is wind. Alamos trees are planted everywhere, acting as a windbreak against the near-constant wind that can blow up to 100 km/h. But the skies are clear, providing long, sun-filled days that, when combined with the cooler temperatures, provide an ideal climate for growing grape vines. And while Patagonia produces a mere two per cent of Argentina's total production, the wines were some of the most interesting that I tasted on my trip.
There were once more than 100 wineries operating in the region, but during the '70s, wineries began shutting down, in part because of the expense of producing wine in such a remote region. Today, thanks to the Bodega del Fin del Mundo, there are 15 wineries.
If I had notions before leaving that Patagonia was all about my style of wines -higher natural acidities, more floral aromatics -they were confirmed. And aside from malbec and torrontes, there is a lot to get excited about.
We visited seven wineries and each one was producing wines that I would love to see here in Quebec. Inexpensive pinot noirs that were
some of the highest quality wines relative to their price that I have ever tasted. The malbecs showed more floral aromatics. The torrontes wines were fresher and much less perfumed than the Salta versions from up north.
The shocker grape was sauvignon blanc. Quite simply, they made some of the best and unique wines that I have tasted. Perhaps because of the mix of long, sunlit days and cooler temperatures, Patagonian sauvignon blanc somehow shows all the classic citrus flavours without having overly green notes, a problem with most sauvignon blancs from around the world. With quality like this, they could blow away many of the cheaper wines on the market from places like New Zealand, Chile and South Africa.
We need more Patagonian wines here, as their style is better suited to the Quebec palate than many of the heavier, riper wines of Mendoza.
Mendoza: the winemaker difference
Located near the foothills of the Andes, with close to 150,000 hectares of vineyards, Mendoza is the heart of the Argentine wine industry, producing more than 60 per cent of the nation's wines.
But while the wines all say Mendoza on the label, where they come from in Mendoza, and who made them, can make quite a difference.
Soils are pretty well uniform, so the big difference from one sub-region to the next tends to be altitude. The low-lying plains of the eastern part are where much of the bulk wine production comes from.
But as you move west, and closer to the Andes, elevations increase and one finds some of the highest altitude vineyards in the world. And it is in these areas that some of Argentina's best wines are being made, in sub-regions with names like.. Read Full article
