Tikal 2008 Patriota (60% Bonarda, 40% Malbec) Mendoza #vinegeek
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Tag Archives: Mendoza
Two Alex Elman Wines
Finally catching up on some old tasting notes. Here are a couple of wines from Alex Elman Wines, an importer who decided to create her own label, featuring wines from Argentina made from organic grapes. You may notice braille on the labels; that’s because Alex Elman lost her sight in her 20s. Read the full story here.
TRIVIA BREAK: What well-known Rhône winery uses braille on it’s labels? (Here’s a lesser known one.)
These wines were provided as samples for review. They each retail for around $12.
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Overall, I think the Torrontes is a solid example of it’s type for the price. It’s just not a style I’m a big fan of. Given the glut of inexpensive Malbec on the shelves of wine shops and grocery stores and gas stations coast to coast (depending on the relative enlightenment of your state’s beverage laws), I’d have a hard time recommending this one.
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And now an offering to the SEO gods (and anyone who needs to cut & paste):
Alex Elman 2010 Torrontes Mendoza (Argentina) | Floral, apricot/peach nose like a car air freshener. More apricot/peachy flavors on a medium-bodied, low-acid frame, with the barest hint of minerality. | C+
Alex Elman 2009 Malbec Mendoza (Argentina) | My first reaction is that it smells cheap. There’s lots of Christmas spice and it reminds me a bit of mulled wine (though maybe I’m just having a flashback to a really terrible tasting room experience in Fredericksburg TX). The flavors are blueberry/blackberry, a bit on the thin side and in need of some backbone. Overall, I don’t get enough of the richness I want when I’m drinking Malbec. | C-
Oddball Wine of the Week: Bonarda
Okay, so this may be the least odd of my Oddball series to date. (So far, I’ve done Lagrein, Prieto Picudo, and rosé of Spatburgunder.) I bet many of you have heard of Bonarda from Argentina, and some of you may have tried it. What makes it an oddball to me is no one seems to know just what in the hell it is. Is it the same Bonarda as in Italy? Or is it really Charbono? Or could it be related to Dolcetto?
Here’s an inexpensive example that was recommended to me. Let’s check it out.
Durigutti Bonarda 2007 Mendoza
Producer: Durigutti Winemakers
Grapes: “Bonarda” (More on the tangled past of Argentine Bonarda in a future post.)
Appellation: Mendoza (Argentina)
Vineyards: From vineyards in Luján de Cuyo and San Carlos
Winemaking: The winemakers take a natural approach, fermenting with native yeasts and leaving the wine unfiltered and unfined. And this is a first for me, I think: the website says the wine is spent 18 months in “stave-studded cement tanks (first use American oak).” Anyone familiar with that process?
Alcohol: 13.9%
Price: $10.53 at Spec’s in Austin.
My tasting notes: The first thing I think of when I sniff this wine is “grapey” – but not just any grapey-ness, it makes me think of Grapples. Have you ever seen these frankenfruit? They are apples that have been infused with Concord grape flavor. I’ve never tasted one, but I’ve smelled them at the grocery store. They are way more aromatic than actual grapes in the produce section, but in a somewhat artificial way. Anyway, back to the wine… I also get cherries, a bit of wood smoke, a whiff of vegetal character and, oddly, a sort of caramel quality (Mrs. VINEgeek contributed this last note, which I was struggling to ID). On the palate, it hits you with sweet, fruit-bomb intensity at the very beginning, but then it drys up quickly and goes slightly bitter, in a good way. The fruit flavors are in the red family: more cherries and a hint of raspberry, maybe some plum as well. It ends with some tannic grip, but isn’t especially lengthy. By the second glass, some of the complexity seems to be evaporating and I’m left with something juicy, but fairly simple.
Overall impression: Interesting initially, but in the end, not totally sold on it. B-/C+
Free association:
More info:
87 points from Wine Spectator.
Production was 4500 cases.
Finca El Portillo Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Mendoza
Producer: Bodegas Salentein
Grapes: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Appellation: Mendoza (Argentina), Valle de Uco
Vineyards: 100% estate vineyard Finca El Oasis. High elevation (3445 feet). Alluvial soils. Night harvested.
Aging: 100% stainless steel
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: I paid $8.49
My tasting notes: The nose is steely, with citrusy aromas. The high elevation, night harvesting and stainless fermentation/aging all lead to a lively crispness in the mouth with good fruit that leans toward the tropical. It has nice, lengthy finish as well.
Score: This has the crispness that I want in an everyday white. Not complex enough to be much more than that. But what can you expect for less than 9 bucks? B-/C+
Free association: Makes me think of lemonade which makes me think of… “Lemonade – that cool refreshing drink” Eddie Murphy on Elvis Presley, from ‘Delirious’ (video)
Fun fact: The Valle de Uco is not named after a river, but a pre-Columbian Indian chief who introduced irrigation to the region. (from the World Atlas of Wine)
