VINTAGE ARGENTINA WINE TASTING WITH SPECIAL GUEST FRANK MARCO BAROUDI Friday, July 14, 2023 - 7:30 PM
"In Europe we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary."
- Ernest Hemingway, "A Moveable Feast"
And we don’t take days off here at Wine Watch so when you see “Wine Bar is Closed” on our calendar of events that means Toni and I are out of town. We are celebrating out 25th wedding anniversary and will be back to continue our scientific work with wine next week for the study of 40 year olds and our Lokoya VS Cardinal Napa Valley Cabernet Showdown tastings.
We have a great line-up of events in July but not many wine personalities so when I heard that our good friend Frank Marco Baroudi was in town from Puro Uno Winery I said this would be the perfect time to host a vintage Argentina wine tasting.
Argentina is the fifth largest wine producer on the planet today but it was not until recently that the wines have been highly regarded by wine drinkers outside of Argentina. They consumed most of the wine produced here over the last few hundred years as the population of Argentina were also among the largest consumers of wine in the world. It was not until the late 1980’s when they started to look to export their wines as the population started drinking less wine and some people in other parts of the wine world started to notice the potential of the wines from areas like Mendoza and Patagonia.
Superstar consultants like Michele Rolland from Bordeaux and Paul Hobbs from California started working with Argentina’s biggest names in the wine industry and the rest of the wine drinking people outside of Argentina began to take notice of Argentina’s wines.
Today, the wines of Argentina are on par with the best wines produced anywhere in the world. I have been touting the wines from this country for the last decade saying that “You can’t find a better value if you like Bordeaux varietals than Argentina.” Malbec is the star here but the blends are the best wines to me and when you look at the top end of the quality range today these wines can also hang with the best made anywhere in the world.
We had this 2012 Puro Uno Artist Series blend in a vintage California Cabernet Sauvignon tasting back in March as the ringer and the crowd picked it as WOTN!
Join us as we taste through dozen 10+ year old wines from Argentina with one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject of Argentina wines. The fee for this tasting which includes dinner in $295+ tax for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.
Vintage Argentina Wine Tasting
With Special Guest FRANK MARCO BAROUDI
Friday, July 14th
7:30pm
2004 Dolium Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
2005 Dolium Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
2006 Dolium Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
2007 Dolium Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
2006 Dolium Malbec Reserva, Mendoza, Argentina
2011 Puro Uno Mega Malbec Mendoza
2011 Puro Uno Malbec Gran Reserva Mendoza
2012 The Mega Malbec Company Artist Series Blend By Puro Uno Mendoza
2012 The Mega Malbec Company Artist Series Icono Malbec By Puro Uno Mendoza
2011 Cobos Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
2007 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino, Mendoza, Argentina
Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Baby Peppers with Quail Egg And Uccelliera Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Beef Short Rib Empanadas with Mole Sauce
Mongolian BBQ Iberico Pork Loin with Papas Fritas
Dulce de Leche
The fee for this tasting is $295 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any dietary restrictions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.
If you like Bordeaux, there is no better value in the world of Bordeaux varietals than what is coming from Argentina today. On this offering you can get a 10+ year old wine from a great producer that is only $50 dollars a bottle! And a wine made from 100+ year old vines that is under $100 a bottle and they only made 1588 bottles!!
We have followed this winery from the beginning and are sad to inform those that have been with us along the way that these are the last few vintages from this trail blazing producer of Malbec from Mendoza.
I will never forget the first time Frank Baroudi called on me some 20 years ago and he tasted me on these wines that were 10x the price of anything that I had ever had from Argentina. I looked at him and said: “The wines are very good but you are 20 years before your time, no one is ready to pay $200+ for a bottle of Malbec from Mendoza”.
I was only part correct as the top level wines from Mendoza now sell for over $200 a bottle but Frank still had a small stash of these tiny production wines that we can now offer at 1/3 the oringinal release price and now they are ready to drink!!
Perfectly Aged Malbec from Mendoza
2012 The Mega Malbec Company Artist Series Blend by Puro Uno Mendoza
Price: $100.00 Your Price: $88.00 Quantity in Stock: 315
Dark black and black plum fruit here on the nose with notes of black olive tapenade, dried herbs and violet floral notes, nice evolution and complexity here on the nose. A very balanced wine on the tongue, big and chewy with lots of ripe plum and cherry fruit with sweet herbs and an array of that spice and nuance from the nose coming through on the finish, lovely freshness and balance, this wine is drinking beautifully but will still last for a decade or more in your cellar. Finish 50+ Most Excellent
Composition: 50% Malbec, 40% Syrah, 10% Cab. Franc
Location of Grapes: Lujan de Cuyo and Tunuyán, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina. Altitude 3280-3450 feet.
Aging: 18 months in French oak barrels.for the Syrah and Cab. Franc, 36 months in New French Oak for the Malbec
Average Yield Tons/ Ha: 6-8 tons per hectare
Days of Maceration with skins: 45 days
Malolactic Fermentation details: Fermentation in French oak barrels.
Filtration and Fining: Filtration ok. No clarification.
Acidity: 5,99
Ph: 3,26
Residual Sugar: 2,97
Alcohol %: 15,5
2012 The Mega Malbec Company Artist Series Malbec by Puro Uno Mendoza
Price: $100.00 Your Price: $88.00 Quantity in Stock: 175
Dark cherry and black raspberry fruit here on the nose with notes of black olive, black licorice and violet floral notes nice complexity here on the nose. A very balanced wine on the tongue, big and chewy with lots of ripe plum and cherry fruit with sweet herbs and an array of that spice and nuance from the nose coming through on the finish, lovely freshness and balance, this wine is drinking beautifully but will still last for a decade or more in your cellar. Finish 50+ Most Excellent
2011 Puro Uno Mega Malbec Mendoza
Price: $60.00 Your Price: $52.80 Quantity in Stock: 98
Technical Data: Location of Grapes Single Vineyard Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza
Average Yield in Tons/ Acre 6 tons per hectare = 2.4 tons per acre
Date harvested Second Week of April 2011 Harvested and Sorted 100% by Hand
Aging 36 Months in 80% New French Oak and 20% New American Oak.
Filtration and Fining 100% Fine
Age of the specific vines harvested 100+ Years
Time of Maceration 25 days with skins and 5 days post
Fermentation. Malolactic Fermentation details 100% with indigenous yeasts.
Chemistry Acidity g/lt 5.42 ph 3.75
Residual Sugar 3.05 g/l
Alcohol 15.3%
Production 1734 bottles of 750ml
Philosophy A true mouthful of MEGA malbec that is fresh with ripe fruit aged with finesse and super well integrated oak and alcohol that will linger on and on and age beautifully.
2008 Puro Uno Malbec Gran Reserva Mendoza
Price: $60.00 Your Price: $52.80 Quantity in Stock: 6
2011 Puro Uno Malbec Gran Reserva Mendoza
Price: $60.00 Your Price: $52.80 Quantity in Stock: 120
The Gran Reserva is a stunning example of what the most serious old vine Malbec can become when everything comes together the right way. Produced from a Single Vineyard located in Lujan de Cuyo. Lots of dark blackberry fruit, fig and dark spices with notes of toasty oak and some dark earthy highlights on the nose. A big and chewy wine on the tongue but with ripe round tannins big but still quite fresh and a long-layered finish. This wine should age for another decade or more in your cellar but it is starting to drink very nicely with a few hours in a decanter. The 2008 and 2011 vintages in Mendoza are classic in style with excellent freshness, they have the concentration and depth of a Mendoza wine but the balance of Bordeaux.
A bit about Puro Uno:
This project started in the head of Frank Baroudi over 30 years ago, while attending college at USC, Los Angeles. During his freshman year, Frank's roommate’s grandfather passed, and he being a connoisseur of all things fine, left him a 45,000 bottle wine cellar and a few hundred boxes of pre-embargo Cuban cigars to enjoy. The boys learned quickly about first growths as that was 90 % of the cellar and discovered the best of Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Petrus, Haut Brion & Y’quem – the great vintages – 29’s, 45’s, & 61’s. This was only 1976 and little did they know, they still had the 82’s to discover. Although Frank's buddy had a few extra years of exposure, Frank quickly caught up. He enjoyed concerts at the Hollywood Bowl with bottles of fine vintage Champagnes followed by magnums of ‘45 Petrus… not too tough to take. This was Franks's early exposure to the rarefied world of fine vintage wine and cigars that started his yearning to create his own extraordinary wines and cigars. At the time, Frank was in college to become an engineer and that is indeed what he accomplished. After five years at USC, he left with a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computers and went out to tackle the real world. Frank eventually worked for one of the largest computer companies in the world, had an amazing expense account and was extraordinarily successful at his job.
Fast forward thirty years…Frank finally had the opportunity to realize his lifelong dream… to make incredible, world class wines by blending varietals that had never before been combined. Frank used the best grapes possible and considered the individual virtues of eachvarietal and how these attributes would be affected by combining them as he created his blends.
By that time, Frank had been to all the well-known growing and production regions in California, France, Italy and Spain to learn the secrets of “wine making”. It all came together just over a decade ago when he went to investigate the Chilean and Argentinean wine culture. Frank discovered Mendoza, Argentina – a place that really turned him on. It had such an intriguing environment, with rich, complex fruit of amazing depth and quality and an economy that would not take millions of dollars to start a modest winemaking project.
Dolium
2007 DOLIUM MALBEC GRAN RESERVA MENDOZA
Price: $75.00 Your Price: $66.00 Quantity in Stock: 22
The word "dolium" is Latin for amphora, the distinctive bottles that the classical Greeks and Romans used to store wine. Like the Romans, who kept wines underground at a constant temperature throughout the year, Dolium is the first underground winery in Argentina to combine such ancient traditions with modern technology.
Under the direction of Mario Giadorou, a mechanical engineer with a distinguished background in private industry before turning his attention to the production of fine wine in 1997, this high tech and state of art winery rose in the middle of the existing vineyard. In this way his ancient family's activity in Italy was reborn.
2005 DOLIUM MALBEC GRAN RESERVA MENDOZA
Price: $75.00 Your Price: $66.00 Quantity in Stock: 11
These are two of the wines that are on the table tonight and are both great examples of mature Mendoza Malbec drinking at their peak and it is hard to say which I have a preference for as both the 2005 and the 2007 are Most Excellent but it seems that we are selling the 2005 a bit quicker as there are ½ the number of bottles remaining from the 60 that we received just a year ago.
Paul Hobbs - Vina Cobos
2018 VINA COBOS VOLTURNO RED BLEND MENDOZA
Price: $240.00 Your Price: $211.20 Quantity in Stock: 1
Cabernet sauvignon is the main component of this exquisiteblend, offering a predominance of fruit and noticeableminerality. It shows an intense ruby red color and aromas ofred fruits, licorice, lead, gunpowder, pepper and chocolate; asubtle hint of spearmint complements the profile withfreshness and elegance. In the mouth we find red fruits,licorice and marmalade; an intense, broad wine with a particular mineral texture, its long finish invites us to keepdiscovering it.
Blend: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc
2019 VINA COBOS VINCULUM CHARDONNAY MENDOZA
Price: $52.50 Your Price: $46.20 Quantity in Stock: 1
Intense yellow color with greenish tones. On the nose is shows notes of pear, green apple, apricot and hints of cinnamon, achieving great purity and intensity. This wine is rich, mineral and textured on the palate, sustained by a remarkable freshness and a long finish.
2018 VINA COBOS VINCULUM MALBEC MENDOZA
Price: $73.50 Your Price: $64.68 Quantity in Stock: 1
(92 Points) Shows a seductive aroma of blueberry pie with flavors to match, plus notes of concentrated dark plum and spiced cherry. The plush and well-spiced finish is loaded with rich violet and chocolate mousse. Wine Spectator
2016 BRAMARE CHARDONNAY MARCHIORI VINEYARD MENDOZA
Price: $48.00 Your Price: $42.24 Quantity in Stock: 10
Intense yellow in color. The nose is floral, fruity, and very elegant, expressing green and tropical fruits such as pear and pineapple. Bright acidity, with a rich, creamy texture on the palate, accented with flavors of vanilla and cocoa. It is a round, complex wine with good structure and remarkable persistence.
2011 BRAMARE REBON VINEYARD MALBEC VALLE DE UCO MENDOZA
Price: $90.00 Your Price: $79.20 Quantity in Stock: 6
A single vineyard from the Valle de Uco . A good bit of peppery spice to the dark cherry and blackberry fruit on the nose. Very dense and rich on the tongue with layers of dark spices, rich ripe fruit and a host of tannins here at the end bittersweet chocolate and a long layered finish. Finish 50+ Most Excellent
2017 BRAMARE CABERNET SAUVIGNON MARCHIORI VINEYARD MENDOZA
Price: $105.00 Your Price: $92.40 Quantity in Stock: 4
Black garnet, with tinges of cardinal red and aromas of ripe blackberry and rich cocoa powder on the nose. The broad entry introduces a big wine, brimming with black plum, blackberry pie, cola and a spice complement of black peppercorns and clove. The Marchiori Vineyard in Perdriel yields a beautifully integrated cabernet sauvignon with dusty, powdery tannins and a fresh, juicy acidity.
2017 BRAMARE CABERNET SAUVIGNON LUJAN DE CUYO MENDOZA
Price: $43.50 Your Price: $38.28 Quantity in Stock: 7
(94 points) The most interesting thing about this wine is that you don’t see it coming. It’s not at all obvious and yet it’s a relative of the great Cabs from the Napa Valley combined with the sun-kissed heritage of Mendoza. Aged for 18 months, 26% in new French oak, this is a deep red in the glass. The nose begins with subtle notes of violet, mint and pepper before delivering a masterclass in black currant, accompanied by aromas of roasted red pepper, cinnamon and cedar. The feel is gentle with plenty of energy, fine tannins and shapely, contained acidity. A powerful, precise, nuanced red. Joaquín Hidalgo, Vinous (Oct 2020)
2019 BRAMARE MALBEC VALLE DE UCO MENDOZA
Price: $57.75 Your Price: $50.82 Quantity in Stock: 19
Intense violet-red color. An attractive nose with aromas of violet, rose petals, and blue fruits. Fresh on the pallet with structured tannins that evolve into a lasting finish. --vinacobos.com
2020 BRAMARE MALBEC LUJAN DE CUYO MENDOZA
Price: $57.75 Your Price: $50.82 Quantity in Stock: 23
A big and bold style of malbec with a good hand of roasted coffee, dark black berry fruit, black licorice and dark earth on the nose very complex bouquet. Big and chewy on the tongue with a solid core of black berry and plum fruit, big tannins very long finish, black earth, licorice, violet floral notes, a big wine but still has balance and freshness to the finish. Finish 45+ Excellent +
2019 VINA COBOS “FELINO” CHARDONNAY MENDOZA
Price: $21.75 Your Price: $19.14 Quantity in Stock: 21
Bright yellow with green hues. Tropical fruit aromas of mango, pineapple, and citrus are pronounced on the nose, while on the palate flavors of green apple, peach and subtle notes of vanilla emerge. Racy acidity adds freshness and structure through a persistent finish -Winery Notes
2020 VINA COBOS FELINO COCODRILO CORTE RED BLEND MENDOZA
Price: $36.75 Your Price: $32.34 Quantity in Stock: 16
76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Malbec, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petitt Verdot
WINERY NOTES- Deep ruby, red color with black tones. Aromas of dark cherries, herbal hints, sweet spices, graphite. On the palate the wine is medium bodied, long finish with creamy tannins.
GROWING SEASON The 2020 season recorded the earliest harvest in Mendoza's history. The exceptional health of the fruit stands out, providing well-structured wines with great balance and flavor concentration. In a warm climate, the strategic planning of the harvest points and logistics were key to achieving freshness, good acidity and maturity at its exact point to achieve excellent wines. The harvest began on February 18 with Chardonnay from Los Chacayes, Tunuyán and ended on March 27 with Malbec from San Pablo, Tunuyán
2021 VINA COBOS FELINO MALBEC MENDOZA
Price: $24.50 Your Price: $21.56 Quantity in Stock: 21
Bright and deep purple color. Aromas of black fruit reminiscent of fresh plum mixed with graphite notes. On the palate the wine is balanced and energetic, with sweet and round tannins and long finish.
2020 VINA COBOS FELINO CABERNET SAUVIGNON MENDOZA
Price: $24.50 Your Price: $21.56 Quantity in Stock: 26
Pure varietal expressions serve as a vibrant introduction to Mendoza, sourced from rigorously selected vineyards throughout the region's top quality growing areas - Lujan de Cuyo and Valle de Uco - imparting distinct fruit profiles to the wines. This wine has a deep red ruby color with pleasant aromas of ripe red fruit and a fresh touch of tobacco, cocoa and spices like nutmeg. Good concentration on the palate, round and smooth. Its nish has a lovely red fruits’ aertaste.
2018 VINA COBOS CABERNET SAUVIGNON MARCHIORI VINEYARD MENDOZA
Price: $105.00 Your Price: $92.40 Quantity in Stock: 4
Deep color of violet and black tones. On the nose, it shows aromas of black tea, violets, blueberries and dark berries. It presents freshness, fine grain tannins and minerality on the palate.
Nicolas Catena
2018 NICOLAS CATENA ZAPATA ADRIANNA MUNDUS BACILLUS TERRAE MALBEC MENDOZA
List Price: $352.00 Your Price: $309.76 Quantity in Stock: 1
(98 points) Outer quote mark The 2018 Adrianna Vineyard Mundus Bacillus Terrae started with a marked creamy and lactic note, reflecting a very young and tender wine that started with a lot of malic acid. It has lower alcohol and higher acidity than the other two Adrianna bottlings; it's vibrant and lively, nicely textured and surprisingly fresh. The creamy and lactic note disappeared after some time in the glass, giving way to fresher notes, almost citrus. They have also done a selection of individual plants, discarding some plants in lower parts, and the wine has gained in precision and freshness. They used a high percentage of full clusters and fermented it in concrete with indigenous yeasts and matured it in used oak barrels for 18 months. In 2018, the three Adrianna bottlings have more defined character; the differences are more marked than in a year like 2017. This has to be among the finest vintages for the Mundus Bacillus Terrae. 4,800 bottles were filled. (LG) Inner quote mark (3/2021) Wine Advocate
2020 CATENA ZAPATA MALBEC ARGENTINO MENDOZA, ARGENTINA
Price: $122.00 Your Price: $107.36 Quantity in Stock: 2
The Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino shows a saturated dark violet color with ruby reflections; the nose offers cassis, blueberries and violets, along with a strong suggestion of soil tones. It combines density and sweetness on the one hand, with gripping, lightly saline flavors of mocha, dark berries, spice, and minerals; a palate-staining finish dominated by sweet black and blue fruits.
2019 NICOLAS CATENA ZAPATA MALBEC ARGENTINO MENDOZA
Price: $122.00 Your Price: $107.36 Quantity in Stock: 1
(96 Points) It feels like there was a big change in the 2019 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino, a year with a vibrant palate and very clean and focused aromas and flavors. They fine-tuned the irrigation and viticulture, and that seems to have increased the precision of the wine. They also did a selection and left the grapes from the borders of the vineyard, which were affected by the paths and other stuff. It's still a little more voluptuous than the wines from Gualtallary, as this mixes grapes from Angélica (Lunlunta) and Nicasia (Altamira). It's nicely textured and tasty, medium-bodied and with a vibrant finish. 25,200 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2020. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2013 NICOLAS CATENA ZAPATA RED BLEND MENDOZA
Price: $100.50 Your Price: $88.44 Quantity in Stock: 1
(96 Points) The 2013 Nicolás Catena Zapata is a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Malbec from the La Pirámide, Adrianna and Nicasia vineyards. It is perfectly clean and focused, a noticeable improvement over the 2012 vintage. The Cabernet Sauvignon from this cool vintage seems to have a more restrained character that made me think of Cabernet Franc, very classical and serious. They have been harvesting earlier and earlier in search of balance and freshness, and the strategy has definitely worked. It has great freshness and focus, and the lower alcohol and acidity seem to make the wine integrate the oak very nicely. This has to be one of the finest vintages of Nicolás Catena Zapata. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2019 CATENA MALBEC PARAJE ALTAMIRA UCO VALLEY
Price: $25.25 Your Price: $22.22 Quantity in Stock: 2
(95 points) “Fruit from the high-altitude, free-draining family vineyards of Nicasia and Angélica, 60% from the former. Fermentation in 100% new French oak barrels using wild yeasts, with 80% whole berry fruit and 20% of the clusters left intact. The wine is then aged for 18 months before being bottled for release. Alistair Cooper MW: High-toned nose, pencil shavings, cigar box, cassis and grilled meat. Lovely texture, elegance and grace. Dirceu Vianna Junior MW: Gently perfumed cherries, blackberries, dark chocolate, dried herbs and spice. Excellent concentration and attractive savoury complexity. Worldclass, simply delicious. David Williams: Generous and juicy, bright cherry and blackcurrant; some claret-like cedar and a ruffle of ripe tannins. Super-stylish. (DW)” (7/2022) Decanter
2019 BODEGA CATENA CABERNET SAUVIGNON MENDOZA
List Price: $19.25 Your Price: $16.94 Quantity in Stock: 29
The Catena Cabernet Sauvignon shows a dark ruby color with violet tones. On the nose, it offers intense aromas of ripe raspberries and cassis with notes of pepper, clove, and a touch of cedar. On the palate, it is full-bodied and rich and displays layers of black currant and black raspberry with notes of cedar and oregano. This Cabernet Sauvignon is an elegant wine with silky tannins that provide structure and a long and persistent finish.
2017 CATENA CABERNET SAUVIGNON CLASSIC MENDOZA HIGH MOUNTAIN VINES
Price: $17.00 Your Price: $14.96 Quantity in Stock: 13
(90 Points) Compared with the 2016, the 2017 Catena Cabernet Sauvignon feels a little riper within its fresh style, with moderate alcohol and good acidity. This always contains small percentages of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, and it matured in oak barrels for 12 months. Notes of iron and fresh blood developed with time in the glass. 240,000 bottles produced. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate