San Pedro de Yacochuya tasting with Thierry Haberer – assistant winemaker to Michel Rolland

The discovery of a good wine is increasingly better for mankind than the discovery of a new star.

Da Vinci, Leonardo (1452-1519) | Italian Artist

Argentina is one of the best wine producing countries in the world when it comes to values and high quality wines as well.  I have been stating “you can’t find a better Bordeaux style blend for under $15 that what you can find in Argentina and to some extent neighboring Chile. 

We have seen a number of outside investors come to Argentina over the last few decades but one of the first winemakers from Bordeaux to see the potential of Mendoza and its many wine regions is Michele Rolland.  He came to Medoza in the late 1980's to help Arnaldo Etchart and has been consulting for wineries as well as starting his own projects ever since.  One of his first joint partnership was with Arnaldo Etchart in 1995 they started San Pedro de Yacochuya winery we will be tasting this evening.

Join us as we taste through this wineries like-up of new releases along with our host, the winemaker for this property Theirry Haberer.  Wine Watch Catering's Toni Lampasone will be making a traditional Argentine Asado to accompany the tasting wines.   This is a sit down tasting and is limited to 15 tasters, the fee for this tasting is $55 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

San Pedro de Yacochuya tasting at Wine Watch with Thierry Haberer –
 assistant winemaker to Michel Rolland
Friday, July 27, 2012
7pm

Tasting Wines:

Coquena Torrontes 2010
Price: $21                             Sale $18.48                          Case $214

This is a wine that takes Torrontes to the next level. Shows intense aromatics of lemon, citrus notes with wonderful texture, a backbone of minerality and acidity that keeps the wine long on the palette.

Coquena Malbec 2010
Price: $21                             Sale $18.48                          Case $214

Coquena Malbec is sourced from high altitude Malbec vines (5400 feet above sea level) at the Tolombon Estate, just 7 miles south of Cafayate. The yields are dramatically limited by the extreme conditions. The wine has just a light touch of oak from aging in oak casks previously used by San Pedro de Yacochuya. The black fruit and plum flavors are dense and ripe. The body is medium with good structure and spicy fruit flavors that linger in the mouth.

(88 Points) "A racy offering with notions of balsamic, licorice, blueberry, and black raspberry. Intense, forward, and friendly."  Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, 2011

2011 Coquena Tannat Mendoza
Price: $21                             Sale $18.48                          Case $214

Dark as night in color. Floral aromas with well-integrated oak, and notes of black cherry and blackberry. This wine is built to show how powerful Tannat can be without being over-ripe or blousy.

(89 Points) "Medium ruby-red. Sexy perfume of crushed blackberry, blueberry, dark chocolate, violet and minerals; reminded me of syrah. Chewy, saline and savory, with strong blackberry fruit complemented by a touch of oakDistinctive wine with very good grip. Will tannat be the next new thing from Salta?" Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, 2012

2008 The Rolland Collection San Pedro de Yacochuya
Price: $30                             Sale $26.40                          Case $306

(91 Points)  The 2008 San Pedro de Yacochuya, composed of 85% Malbec and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and is aged for 12 months in 30% new French oak. Purple in color, it offers up an inviting nose of smoke, tar, licorice, soy, black cherry, and black currant. This leads to a full-bodied wine with layers of succulent fruit, excellent depth and concentration, and a lengthy, pure finish. This outstanding value will profit from another 2-3 years of bottle age and will deliver peak drinking from 2012 to 2023.   Wine Advocate #192, Dec 2010

Val de Flores Malbec 2007
Price: $90                             Sale $79.20                          Case $918

Sexy, lush, dark fruit with enticing floral and fruit aromas. The oak undertones are rich and give the sense of an opulent old bar. A very focused and classy wine.

(92 Points) "It is a glass-coating opaque purple color with an expressive bouquet of balsam wood, Asian spices, incense, lavender, black cherry, and blueberry. Full-bodied and mouth-coating, this intensely flavored, impeccably balanced Malbec has the stuffing to evolve for several more years."  Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, 2010

2005 Yacochuya Malbec Cafayate Salta
Price: $90                             Sale $79.20                          Case $918

(95 Points)  The 2005 Yacochuya (100% Malbec) spent 18 months in new French oak. It is a saturated opaque purple color with a brooding bouquet of mineral, wood smoke, lavender, incense, black cherry, and plum. Voluptuous and powerful on the palate, the wine is dense, rich, succulent, and impeccably balanced. It demands another 6-8 years of cellaring and will offer prime drinking through 2025, if not longer. I tasted a component tank sample of the 2007 and it, too, was spectacular.

How Michel Rolland discovered this beautiful but isolated outpost of a winery would be a story in itself. He began consulting here in 1999, and is now a partner.  eRobertParker.com #184, Aug 2009

Menu

Cheese:  Beemster Gouda, Parmesan Reggiano & Manchego

Asado, Lamb & ChorizoSausages, Skirt Steak, , Chicken Breast offered with a selection of Sauces Spicy Mustard, Chimichurri and Ancho BBQ Chili Sauce

Assorted Rustic Bread with a Garlic Lemon Pepper Gremolata

A bit of info about San Pedro de Yacochuya:

The Etchart family, on the maternal side, has been in the wine business since 1850: its ancestors in Cafayate are the family of Flavio Lema Niño, whose clay wine storage jars still survive to this day.

Arnaldo Benito Etchart bought the property and winery “La Florida” in the first half of the 20th century and it is his son Arnaldo who developed the “Etchart” brand with great success in Argentina and abroad. This winery was sold to the Pernod Ricard group in 1996, and a year prior, Arnaldo already had in the works the wines of the new undertaking: San Pedro de Yacochuya.

Chronology:

1988: Arnaldo Etchart enlists Michel Rolland to help develop the red wines of the Etchart winery--the beginning of a professional and personal relationship with one of the best oenologists in the world. This was one of the first of Rolland’s consulting projects outside of France.

1989: Wine Spectator magazine features Rolland on one of that year’s covers, elevating his prestige to a worldwide scale.

1990: Arnaldo Etchart and Michel Rolland release one of the first premium wines of Argentina: Arnaldo B. Etchart Cosecha 1989.

1995: The first wines of San Pedro de Yacochuya (white and red) enter the domestic market.

1998: The labors of the new winery in Yacochuya begin, resulting in the first harvest in February of 1999.

2001: The San Pedro de Yacochuya winery begins to export its first premium wine (Yacochuya M. Rolland Cosecha 1999), while still meeting the needs of the local market. San Pedro de Yacochuya is located at more than 6,500 feet above sea level, making it one of the highest viti-vinicultural sites in the world. The property is 39.5 acres: 22 acres of Malbec, 10 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5 acres of Tannat and 5 acres of Torrontés. The winery has a capacity of 90,000 liters, and is equipped with the most recent modern technology.