Chile Versus Argentina - The Best Wines from South America Wine Tasting

Wine is a living creature. You never know what lurks under that cork. Many wines go through puberty, like adorable children morphing into repulsive, sullen adolescents. Pour that Riesling you adored in December today, and instead of exuberant fruit you get attitude: "Fine, you're going to pour me. Like I care."

JENNIFER ROSEN, introduction, The Cork Jester's Guide to Wine

When we hit a subject we hit it hard and to finish up our studies on the subject of Chilean and Argentinian wines we will host a high end tasting featuring mostly older vintage wines at the highest level of quality that South American wines have to offer. 

This tasting combines the two powerhouse wine producing countries of South America; Chile and Argentina.   You have heard me saying that it is hard to beat Chile and Argentina when it comes to value but now we will see some of the most expensive wines that they have to offer and we will take a look at a few vintage wines to see just how these top level wines age.  We will be featuring the only wine from South American that has ever earned the #1 spot in the Wine Spectator’s top 100.  The 2005 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta will be on the table.  I have been holding on to this bottle since its release to see how it will age and this is the first of three bottles that we will be showing for scientific research.  I will probably hold on to the other two for another decade before opening another depending on how this bottle shows. Like I said were doing very important scientific research with wines here at Wine Watch.  If you can’t make the tasting and want to know how the older wines showed follow the Wine Watch Instagram for a full report on this and all the tastings we host at Wine Watch.

This is a seated event and there are only 14 spaces available.  The fee for this tasting is $175 per person and that included dinner!  For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Argentina versus Chile - The Best of South America
Thursday, August 15th
7:30pm

2003 Antucura Grand Vin Mendoza

I just found this bottle in my stash, the first vintage of the Grand Vin from this iconic winery of Mendoza a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec.  The bottle was given to me by the owners of the winery and was signed by them but were drinking it anyway!

2005 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta Colchagua Valley

(96 points) Gorgeous aromas of warm ganache and mocha lead to a rich, velvety palate loaded with currant, fig paste, black licorice, cassis bush and bramble notes. The long, juicy finish has great grip and density, with echoes of graphite, dark fruit and mineral. Should greatly reward cellaring. Carmenère, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. *Ranked #1 on Top 100 of 2008, Highly Recommended* (JM) (7/2008) Wine Spectator

2006 Vina Almaviva Puente Alto Chile
Price: $165.00    Your Price: $145.20    Quantity in Stock: 2

(93 Points) Muscular and broad-shouldered, with lots of bittersweet cocoa, dark currant and braised fig notes, followed by a long, loam- and coffee-filled finish. There's also plenty of iron-tinged grip for the cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon,  Carmenere, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Best from 2010 through 2015. 12,500 cases made. “ JM Wine Spectator Issue: Mar 31, 2009

2007 Alta Vista Alto Proprietary Blend Mendoza

Alto is Alta Vista's icon wine. Its first vintage, in 1998, gave rise to Alta Vista Project. Nowadays, it is considered a benchmark in Argentinean production.  Alto is the result of the efforts of each of the workers of the winery because of the thorough care in each stage of its elaboration process. It is the product that involves the largest number of actors, from the vineyard to the winemaking.  Alto is marked by the identity and the soul of all the people involved in its production. For this reason it carries the DNA of Alta Vista winery.

2008 Catena Zapata Estiba Reservada Mendoza
List $495.00    (only available at the winery)

I brought this bottle back with me from Argentina 10 years ago!  They only sell the single barrel version of the Catena Zapata at the winery and at a few wine stores in Brazil.  My only intention was to drink it and this is the perfect occasion!!

2008 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Maipo

(94 Points) This ripe, dense red delivers base notes of humus, mocha and toasty oak supporting the rich cassis, black cherry and dark plum fruit character. There's fine tannins for support, but this is all rich fruit on the spicy finish.  Wine Spectator

2012 Cuvelier Los Andes El Cuvelier Mendoza
Price: $150.00    Your Price: $132.00    Quantity in Stock: 2

This is one of Argentina's newest iconic wine from one of the members of the Clos de la Siete group.  The winemaking staff at Cuvelier taste barrel by barrel to get the best 10 barrels from this outstanding vintage only 3000 bottles for the world!  A blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, a big wine with 15.5% alcohol this is the first vintage of this iconic wine from Mendoza, a good amount of sweet fruit toasty oak, very complex, with aromas of crushed violets, dark chocolate and more very well endowed with layers of fruit, toasty oak spice and still has a freshness and balance despite its size.  Graphite fresh earth.  Killer+

2013 Vina Cobos Malbec Marchiori Vineyard
Price: $223.50    Your Price: $196.68    Quantity in Stock: 5

From a single vineyard block c2 Pedrial Lujan de Cuyo, this wine has a big bouquet blackberry fruit black cherry blueberry fruit a whopping 15.3% alcohol with a host of dark spices bitter chocolate smoked meats with lots of everything violets very rich but also balanced with a long layered finish, sweet balsamic notes and smoky meaty notes a bouquet of flowers and dark spices earth graphite, with more and more coming out as the wine opened. Finish 50+. Killer black licorice a very plush velvety texture KILLER

2014 Pulenta Estate Gran Corte Red Mendoza
Price: $45.00

A blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Tannat, only 1500 cases produced.  A big bouquet of dark berry fruit, mocha, toasty oak spice, dark cherry liqueur and dark chocolate, very rich and lots of richness but still elegant.  A very rich and chewy wine with a good amount of dark spices, coco and sweet tobacco with dark earth, intense minerality and more, big but still quite balanced through the finish, this wine has excellent structure and depth, even better on the second day, this wine should age for a decade or more in your cellar.  Finish 50+                Most Excellent +

2016 Vina Almaviva Chile
Price: $165.50    Your Price: $145.64    Quantity in Stock: 4

(95 Points) The 2016 harvest was complicated by rain in late April, which made them hurry up and finish two weeks earlier than normal. The year was also cooler, and the 2016 Almaviva, a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Carmenère, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot has less alcohol at 13.9% compared to 15% in 2014. The élevage was shortened to 16 months, and they decreased the percentage of new French barrels used-down to 77% from the 82% in the previous year. The wine is fresher and less marked by the oak, a more fluid version, with fine tannins. This is a little different, a lighter and fresher year. It was a very dry winter, complicated by rains. I found very good harmony and fine tannins, balance and freshness in one of the most elegant vintages I remember from Almaviva. This has contained power, very accessible tannins and no green notes at all. It's young but accessible and should develop nicely in bottle, as it has the balance and freshness. This is an elegant and fresh vintage for Almaviva, young and tender, taking advantage of the natural conditions for it. Well done! Luis Gutierrez, September 6, 2018

Menu
A tale of two Empanadas
Charcuterie and Cheese Selections
Grilled Peppers stuffed with poached quail egg and Green Olives stuffed with Sausage
Miso glazed Chilean Seabass and Bacon seared NY sliced rare with Malbec reduction

This is a seated event and there are only 14 spaces available.  The fee for this tasting is $175 per person and that included dinner!  For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.