Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Malbec 2008

During one of our recent tasting club evenings, we were discussing themes for future events. Someone mentioned Malbec, and I pompously dismissed it as plonky. You see, I've had too many plonky Malbecs, and Argentine Malbec seems to be one of those wines that non-wine lovers like, so how can it be any good?

I was at Sainsbury's on the weekend looking for something that would go with a BBQ. I have to say, Sainsbury's wine selection is going, or has gone, straight downhill, at least in my local newly-revamped branch. It's so mediocre that it took me 10 minutes to decide what to buy, and I settled on this Malbec. The reasons I did buy this are all clichés - Malbec is good with BBQ, cheap (2 for £10), fancy, heavy bottle, etc. The one reason that's not cliché is that it is a Taste the Difference wine, and I think TTD wines are usually good quality.

In this case I was right. I was frankly surprised at how good this was. Sure, it's oaky and high in alcohol, but it also has quite good depth and complexity. My teeth were fuzzy by the end of the bottle due to the pronounced but welcome tannins. It also has a nice, gravelly finish. The oak, acid, tannin and fruit are so strong that I wonder if a couple of years of bottle age wouldn't go amiss. Not necessary mind you - this is the style.

Sainsbury's

Taste the Difference Malbec 2008

Mendoza, Argentina

Sainsbury's

2 for £5 (£6.99)

3.5/5

Finca Flichman Gestos Shiraz 2008

This is the second Shiraz from Argentina that I've had recently, and didn't enjoy.

Right off the bat it has a cheap smell, and a harsh, woody palate. Cheap oakiness combined with a rough, smoky flavour makes for a memorable experience - for all the wrong reasons. My fiancée wouldn't even drink it. She had one sip and it sent a shiver through her, and not in a good way. I bravely choked it down, reluctant to pour £6 down the drain. It didn't really get any better.

I don't feel I'm informed enough to generalize, but maybe Shiraz/Syrah isn't Argentina's thing? Or maybe it's not my thing. They obviously have their Malbec, and they do good blends, but I thought why not try something off the beaten path once in a while? Well, here's why not.

Finca Flichman

Gestos Shiraz 2008

Medonza, Argentina

Waitrose

£5.49 (£6.99)

1.5/5

Michel Torino 'Don David' Tannat Reserve 2007

I was walking down a local street a few days ago and noticed a new wine shop had sprung up. It turned out it had only opened about an hour before I noticed it, and the proprietor was none other than Daniel Thorold, who used to co-run The Grape Shop near Clapham Junction. The Grape Shop closed down because of a prohibitive rent increase, so Daniel decided to set up shop in Balham with Thorold Wines.

Daniel decided to organize the wines on his shelves by price instead of region, which is unusual, but the shop is small enough that it's no problem to find what you're looking for. The selection ranges from £5 to over £50.

This Tannat from Argentine producer Michel Torino stood out right away for me. I've heard good things about Michel Torino, and I like grapes like Tannat that have unique character to them. I decided to give it a try (as did the customer before me).

I decanted the wine on the advice of Mr. Thorold, I think for about 2 hours. It was quite good - the most noticeable flavour signature was chocolate, and it had good depth of flavour and nice long finish. Although it was quite powerful and New World in style, it was also quite elegant. Most enjoyable.

Michel Torino

'Don David' Tannat Reserve 2007

Cafayate Valley, Catamarca, Argentina

Thorold Wines

£10.85

3.5/5

Clos de Los Siete 2007

This wine is a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah masterminded by the famed 'flying winemaker' Michel Rolland.

I've had this a couple of times before, but this is the first time I've blogged about it. I opened a bottle right before dinner (steak - cliche I know), and I was actually all set to write it off as an overripe, sweet blown-up new world bore, but I'm not going to - for the simple reason that a couple of hours later it has opened up and and now tastes like a different wine.

When it comes to red wine, I tend to prefer blends, especially with new world wines. They are generally more interesting and complex. This wine, being a blend of 4 grapes is just that - a mix of licorice, cherries, gravelly stones and sturdy tannins. Decant.

Clos de Los Siete 2007

Medoza, Argentina

Waitrose

£11.39 (online)

4/5

Colomé Torrontés Vino Blanco de Gran Altura 2007

I had some Tesco Wine Club vouchers to use up, and this was one of the wines I decided to blow them on. I had never tried it before, but the fact that it won a trophy at the 2008 Decanter World Wine Awards pretty much made up my mind for me.

Torrontés is "the" white grape of Argentina. It's not the only one planted, but apparently the best wines from this grape in the world are made here. It produces dry, aromatic wines.

This example is quite stunning. It has a powerful, floral Gewurztraminer-like nose and palate. Quite dry, but also spicy and rich. Herbal as well, it reminds me of Jägermeister in that respect. It finishes with slightly bitter notes, and an aftertaste reminiscent of Muscadet - kind of an apple/grapey taste.

Currently on for £5.25. Bargain.

Bodega Colomé

Torrontés Vino Blanco de Gran Altura 2007

Calchaqui Valley, Salta, Argentina

Tesco (online)

£5.25 (£7.00)

4/5

Tesco Finest San Juan Shiraz 2007

A friend of mine has encouraged me to try more Argentine wines.  I've had a couple recently, and overall the impression  I get is a good one.  This particular one is a Shiraz from the San Juan province.

I've said before I don't really like Rhone wines that much (bear with me), and perhaps I'm just not a Syrah fan.  For the record, Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape.  Traditionally it's called the former in France and the latter in Australia, but now the two terms are used globally, and I think the style the producer is trying to emulate (or the target market) decides what name to use.

It's always interesting to learn what you like and dislike about different wines, and why.  It's starting to look like I only really appreciate Shiraz when it's from Australia, particularly the Barossa Valley.  This wine (despite the Shiraz tag) reminds me more of a Rhone wine.  It's leaner and less fruity than a Barossa Shiraz, and I thought it had a bit of a woody aftertaste.   It also had a very high alcohol content (14.5%), which seemed a bit out of whack.

Tesco

Tesco Finest San Juan Shiraz 2007

San Juan, Argentina

£5.99 (from around £8)

2.5/5

O Fournier Urban Malbec 2007

This may be too little too late for this post.  I had bought this wine from Oddbins because I had a 20% off Argentina wines voucher, and the shop assistant chose this for me, saying it was the best one they had for that price (£6.99).

Unfortunately, I was greeted with the sight of this bottle, opened and uncovered, on the kitchen counter on Easter Monday morning.  Someone had opened it late the night before, had a glass, and forgotten to seal it.  In a panic I shoved a seal into the top of the bottle.

I still tried it later on though, and it was a very rich, full, grapey, almost port-like wine.  I'm not sure if the grapey character was a result of it being left open all night, or was just an indication of its concentrated fruit-flavours.  Either way, it seemed pretty impressive.

I stopped by Oddbins tonight hoping to get another bottle but they were sold out and weren't expecting any in for "a few weeks".  Crap.

O Fournier is one of the names I always see mentioned as being a top producer in Argentina, and I didn't realise they produced this wine until I inspected the fine print on the label on the back of the bottle.  I'll leave it to one of the experts, Jancis Robinson, to fill you in a little more about this wine.

O Fournier

Urban Malbec 2007

Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Oddbins

£6.99

4/5

Santa Julia Organic Sparkling Chardonnay 2007

Another Easter wine - this one was served with a meringue/fruit dessert.  I had actually asked the guy in my local Oddbins for an off-dry fizz (and not Champagne - too expensive!), and this is what he suggested.  It's pretty dry though, not really what I was expecting, but perhaps that's all he had.  They also had Asti, which would have worked, but I wanted to try something new.

This is fairly fruity and had lots of body.  I wouldn't serve it again with that dessert, I was looking for something a bit sweeter, such as a demi-sec fizz.  It was in fact really good just on its own, and is good value for a vintage wine under £10.

A quick word about Oddbins.  It was recently owned by French firm Castel until it was bought out in August of 2008.  We've decided to attend the monthly tastings in our local branch, after unsuccessfully trying to get on their list for the past few months, due to chaos with internal management and perhaps a bit of incompetence.  But that's no more, as it's all new staff and they seem very passionate and knowledgeable.

The first tasting we attended was a sample of their new arrivals.  There were a couple of interesting sub £10 wines such a keenly priced white Burgundy (that was a little past it), and a tannic Bourgueil.  The overwhelming favourites were a South African Syrah blend from Porcupine Ridge (for £10) and a red Burgundy (for £15).  I had intended to write up all the wines we tasted, but we left in a hurry to get home and I forgot my tasting notes, so apologies for the somewhat random thoughts.

Familia Zuccardi

Santa Julia Organica Sparkling Chardonnay 2007

Mendoza, Argentina

Oddbins

£9.49

3/5

Santa Julia Organica Bonarda/Sangiovese 2007

This Argentinian wine was a bit of a panic buy. However, there was some (however hurried) reasoning behind the choice:

• It is made from Italian grape varieties, which from my limited experience is something the Argentinians do well.
• It said on the label that it matches well with spicy foods. I was dubious about this, but we were about to have enchiladas for dinner and I was willing to take the label's word for it.
  
• It's cheap, about five and half pounds.

It's hard to properly judge this wine, because we had just come straight from a wine tasting at my local Majestic, and the last couple of wines we tasted were very full on reds. We went right into this light-bodied Argentinian red, and coupled with the food we were having, it didn't seem pleasant. I have a feeling it was the enchilada seasoning, which has things like cumin in it which can make red wine taste pretty horrible.

After the meal, though, the wine started to resemble what I like about Argentinian reds made from Italian varieties: a fruity and juicy wine to drink with things like spaghetti bolognese. I wouldn't say it's great, though, and I'd have to try it again to be sure if I like it or not.

Incidentally, if you've never heard of the grape variety Bonarda, according to wikipedia it's also known as Charbono and is a widely planted grape in Argentina.

Santa Julia
Organica Bonarda/Sangiovese 2007
Mendoza, Argentina
Waitrose
~£5.50