A Taste of the IWC . Red wine from Argentina.
More so than in recent years, Argentina´s cabernet sauvignon bottlings caught my attention as I tasted through nearly a thousand new releases from that country this fall. Sure, it´s generally malbec around the clock in Argentina: like Marlborough sauvignon blanc and Napa Valley cabernet, Mendoza malbec has virtually become a brand. The thirst for malbec continues to grow in America, but it´s only a matter of time before this variety reaches a saturation point.
But Argentina is more than a one-trick pony. Clearly its distinctive white grape torrontés is enjoying rapid growth in export markets, albeit from a very small base. But cabernet sauvignon, which is Argentina´s the third most widely planted red variety following malbec and bonarda, has long made excellent wines; they´ve just been outnumbered and overshadowed by malbec.
Pure cabernet in Argentina can lack fruit and flesh and come across as austere, with its acid/tannin spine dominating. That´s why producers often round out these wines by blending in some cabernet franc, merlot or syrah-or malbec, for that matter. But today more top growers have figured out how to

get their cabernets properly ripe. In addition to finding a number of high-quality cabernets in my recent tastings (tasting notes on hundreds of recommended Argentine wines are featured in Issue 154 of the International Wine Cellar.
I was also struck by how the addition of some cabernet sauvignon could body, depth and structure to many malbec-based wines, not to mention restraint and class.
Varietally labeled cabernet sauvignon is my focus here. The more expensive items highlighted in this article compare favorably to examples from Bordeaux and California selling for twice the price, while the examples in the $15 to $18 range are hard to equal anywhere else in the world for accurate varietal character at a gentle price tag.
Viña Alicia, which also offers some sensational more expensive wines, priced the 2008 Paso de Piedra Cabernet Sauvignon Luján de Cuyo, at a giveaway. This deeply colored wine shows reticent redcurrant and pepper aromas complicated by a rocky nuance and a suggestion of dried fruits. It´s sweet, concentrated and minerally, with a finish featuring building, dusty tannins-very serious wine for the price.

Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. 90 points.
(A blend of riesling, albarino and savagnin) Slightly high-toned, cool aromas of lemon, apple, musky ginger, quinine and crushed stone. Sweet and fat with fruit, but with lovely spicy lift to the lemon and orange zest flavors.

Very pliant blend with well-integrated acidity. Finishes very long, with dusty brown spices and a note of grapefruit pith. A fascinating, mineral-driven white blend.

Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. 90 points.
Bright red-ruby. Cool, youthfully medicinal aromas of redcurrant, pepper, spices, menthol and tobacco. Then sweet and dense but refined, with a restrained sweetness and a peppery light touch to the middle palate. Very

classy malbec with subtle, mouthfilling perfume, brisk acidity and a very long, aromatic aftertaste featuring suave, smooth tannins. A step beyond the very good 2007 in perfume, and an amazing value.

San Alberto, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. 92 points.
(88/12 blend of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc) Saturated medium ruby. Vibrant aromas of black fruits, licorice, minerals and crushed rock. Densely packed but juicy and penetrating, with terrific definition and a slatey coolness to the dark fruit and menthol flavors. (I was reminded of a Spanish

wine from llicorella soil.) For all its clarity and perfume, this very young wine is already quite silky. Finishes savory, firm and long, with fine tannins dusting the entire palate. Lovely perfumed lift (from the cabernet franc?) contributes to the impression of grip. Just 350 cases made, from seven fermentations with different clones.

Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. 92 points.
(Petit verdot with a bit of carignan) Good full saturated medium ruby. Sweet but brooding aromas of blueberry, licorice and minerals. Chewy and huge, but with a juicy saline quality and a minerally note of graphite giving the

wine terrific inner-mouth light. Bigger than the Brote Negro but without quite the same vibrancy or definition. This really saturates the tongue and palate and seems more harmonious at this stage than the outstanding 2007 was last year. Finishes with big, chewy tannins and superb breadth.

Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. 94 points.
(aged in new French oak for 16 months) Bright, full red-ruby. Knockout perfume of blackberry, violet, minerals, licorice; conveys a tiny-berry quality. Compellingly intense and racy in the mouth, with great energy and definition to the perfumed flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, minerals and

licorice pastille. This suave, classy, essentially gentle wine finishes with mounting tannins, great sweetness of fruit and terrific grip. These "black shoots" are a mutation of malbec from the same hundred-year-old vineyard used to make the Las Compuerta wine. This wine has been consistently superb in recent years, but 2008 gets my highest rating yet.

Year´s Best Malbec. 93 points.
The Arizu family, who farms Vina Alicia, claims the black shoots of their Malbec Vines correspond to a distinct biotype of the variety. The flavors,

however, are in line with modern Argentine Malbec, with scents of fresh cherries and violets, combining in a firm, sweetly ripe red. Still youthful, this needs at least 4 years to fully develop its complexity.

A Syrah Dry Red Table wine from Mendoza, Argentina.
Source: Wine Advocate # 192. Dec 2010.
Reviewer: Jay Miller.
Rating: 90 points.
Viña Alicia’s red wines begin with the 2008 Syrah (100%) which was aged

in French and American oak for 12 months. Dark cherry red in color, it reveals an alluring nose of lavender, balsamic, pepper, black cherry, and blueberry. Supple on the palate with good concentration and layered fruit, this tasty effort has a bit of structure and should continue to provide pleasure over the next 8 years.

A Malbec Dry Red Table wine from Mendoza, Argentina.
Source: Wine Advocate # 192. Dec 2010.
Reviewer: Jay Miller.
Rating: 92 points.
The 2008 Malbec (100%) spent 12 months in new French oak before bottling

without fining or filtration. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it sports a nose of wood smoke, Asian spices, incense, lavender, and black cherry. Concentrated and intense on the palate with layers of fruit and excellent volume, this mouth-filling effort will evolve for several years and provide peak drinking from 2012 to 2020.

A Malbec Dry Red Table wine from Mendoza, Argentina.
Source: Wine Advocate # 192. Dec 2010.
Reviewer: Jay Miller.
Rating: 94 points.
The 2007 Brote Negro is a unique strain of Malbec that was isolated and

propagated by the Bodega. The wine spent 12 months in 50% new French oak. Medium purple in color, it proffers a bouquet of smoke, pencil lead, violets, exotic spices, and black cherry. On the palate it is elegant, relatively forward, and releases tons of flavor. This pleasure-bent effort is likely to develop for another 2-3 years but will be hard to resist now.

A Petit Verdot Dry Red Table wine from Mendoza, Argentina.
Source: Wine Advocate # 192 Dec 2010.
Reviewer: Jay Miller.
Rating: 93 points.
The 2007 Cuarzo, a blend of 95% Petit Verdot with the balance equal parts Grenache Noir and Carignan, spent 16 months in a mix of new and

used French oak. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it offers up a brooding bouquet of pencil lead, espresso, mineral, earth notes, underbrush, and blackberry. This is a dense effort that manages to be relatively light on its feet. There is plenty of structure under the layers of fruit and a minimum of 5-7 years of cellaring is advised. It will be fascinating to retry this beast in another 8-10 years.

A Nebbiolo Dry Red Table wine from Mendoza, Argentina.
Source: Wine Advocate # 192. Dec 2010.
Reviewer: Jay Miller.
Rating: 92points.
The 2006 Nebbiolo spent 14 months in seasoned French and American oak.

Medium ruby red, it displays an expressive nose of rose petal, spice box, balsamic, and black cherry. Savory, ripe, and elegantly rendered, Nebbiolo produced outside of the Piedmont does not get much better than this. This lengthy effort can be approached now but is likely to develop for several more years.