TN: Wines of Argentina Annual Trade Tasting (angry critique of a hot mess)

WINE TALK
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WINES OF ARGENTINA ANNUAL TRADE TASTING - Regency Center, San Francisco, CA (10/6/2009)


This misbegotten wine event assaulted the senses in San Francisco on Tuesday, and was set to attack New York two days later. I have to ask what in the hell were the organizers thinking? Who thought it was a good idea to combine, in a relatively short two hour or so tasting window, a tasting of multiple wines (5 to 8 in most cases) from 69 different producers, represented by many bodega owners and winemakers, with an ear splitting performance by an over-amplified Argentine tango-inspired pop/jazz band, much of it in pitch darkness? This was, by far, the most aggressively annoying, irritating and disrespectful winetasting I have ever attended, doing a disservice to those who came to taste, those who came to pour and talk about their wines, and the wines themselves.

The event was open to the public, advertised as “Discover Your Inner Tango with Wines of Argentina.” (I am informed that there was also a trade tasting earlier in the day–while I was attending a Rioja trade tasting–and that it was also punctuated by the same kind of loud music performance.) It was set to run from 6 pm (a terrible time to start something in the midst of San Francisco rush-hour gridlock, BTW) to 8:30 pm, but they didn’t start the check in process until after 6:10, and the inefficiency of the registration process (only two of the five people sitting there were apparently capable of looking up people’s names on the list at hand), and the long line waiting to get in meant that it was about 6:30 before most of the crowd started tasting. They then encountered 69 tables packed tightly together up toward the large stage. Thinking I had two hours at that point to taste, I tried to focus mainly on Torrontés and Malbecs, and a few Cabs that looked interesting, from as many producers as possible. Unfortunately, however, only 70 minutes later, the room darkened and someone from the stage announced we were going to have the pleasure of listening to a band I’d never heard of. For the next 10 minutes, in total darkness except for the spots on the stage, the band played their first grating, over-amped number. I had been in the middle of tasting a producer’s lineup, and kept trying to see what I was tasting and jot a few notes using my iPhone flashlight, but after a few minutes, it was becoming a joke. After 10 or 15 minutes, the house lights were raised a little bit (not much), and maybe half the producers continued trying to pour samples, but the noise from the stage made it impossible to continue to have conversations with the winery reps, and the blaring trumpets, piercing strings and obnoxious strobe lights onstage made for an impossible distraction. After another 15 minutes, most producers had given up trying to pour, and most tasters had either left or were gathered far from the stage. (There was a minority that seemed to be enjoying the performance, but I’d estimate them at less than 10% of the total attendance, and probably among those I’d overheard who kept asking the producers whether they could buy their wines at BevMo.) I left about 8:05 pm after lodging a written complaint at the request of the one person still sitting at the registration table, who asked me to write down what I’d told her, as she indicated many people had said the same thing and she’d also asked them to write it down.

Did the organizers think the wines couldn’t stand on their own and that they needed some major distraction for it to be a fun or memorable event? I must admit that, although I keep trying them when opportunities present themselves, I have yet to be wowed by any Argentine wines. I do appreciate many Argentine Torrontés offerings as representing good values and very solid, enjoyable whites that are an excellent pairing with spicy Asian dishes. I’ve had some very decent Malbecs, and there were several at this event, but I’ve tasted even more that were appropriately inexpensive, fruity numbers that lacked structure and complexity. I’m also underwhelmed by Argentine Cabernets and Bordeaux blends, which so often have a very similar taste profile to the Malbecs (and which are so often blended with Malbec and vice versa) that they hardly stand on their own as varietally true Cabernets to me (with rare exceptions). At any rate, I might have had a chance to sample more Argentine wines that would have modified my opinion had not the organizers of this large tasting decided that loud music by a band unknown to those present should take priority over the wines. If I’d known the tasting window would only be 70 minutes, I certainly wouldn’t have driven 40 miles to San Francisco in the midst of rush hour traffic to attend. If I’d been alerted once I got there that I’d made a big mistake and there was going to be a band taking over 70 minutes into the tasting, at least I would have tried to sample through all the premium Malbecs on hand, rather than actually trying to spend that precious time tasting through the lineup of any of the producers. As it was, I left feeling angry and more than a little violated. I included my email address in the note I left for the organizers at the event, and have yet to hear from anyone. I’d be interested in knowing if anyone else received (or receives in the future) any explanation for the bizarre programming of this event which wasted the time of so many people.

One further note: I lived for seven months in Buenos Aires many years ago, and I am a fan of Argentine tango music, and other Argentine popular music, when served on its own.

FWIW, from what I did get to taste before this became a hot mess, the strongest Torrontéses were the Alamos, Valentin Bianchi and Vinas de Altura Gamela Reserva. The best Malbec was the '06 Vina Cobos Marchiori Vineyard, while the best Cab/Malbec blends were the '06 Pascual Toso Magdalena and the '06 Vina Cobos uNico Marchiori Vineyard.
Alamos

Alta Vista

  • 2008 Alta Vista Torrontés - Argentina, Salta, Cafayate
    Bright lime, green apple, mineral nose; oily textured, lime, green apple, green melon palate; medium finish (89 pts.)
  • 2008 Alta Vista Malbec Classic - Argentina, Mendoza
    Plum nose; berry, plum, black fruit, easy drinking palate; medium finish (6 mos. in barrel) (88 pts.)
  • 2008 Alta Vista Cabernet Sauvignon Classic - Argentina, Mendoza
    Black fruit, tar nose; black fruit, licorice palate; medium finish (6 mos. in barrel) (88 pts.)
  • 2007 Alta Vista Malbec Premium - Argentina, Mendoza
    Tight nose; black fruit, tart plum palate; medium finish (10 mos. in oak) (90 pts.)
  • 2007 Alta Vista Cabernet Sauvignon Premium - Argentina, Mendoza
    Black fruit, plum nose; black fruit, plum palate; medium finish 88+ pts. (10 mos. in oak) (88 pts.)
  • 2006 Alta Vista Malbec Grande Reserve Terroir Selection - Argentina, Mendoza
    Nice plum, black fruit nose; tight, black fruit, plum, tart berry palate; medium-plus finish (blend of selection from all of their vineyards; 12 mos. in French oak) (91 pts.)
  • 2005 Alta Vista Alto - Argentina, Mendoza
    Nice black fruit, berry, tar nose; tasty, tart black fruit, berry palate; medium-plus finish 91+ pts. (75% Malbec from 80 yr old vines, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon from 40 yr old vines; 17 mos. in new French oak) (91 pts.)

Alvear

Andeluna Cellars

Argento

  • 2008 Argento Torrontés Reserva - Argentina, Mendoza
    Lime, cream nose; lime, green fruit palate; medium finish (88 pts.)
  • 2008 Argento Malbec - Argentina, Mendoza
    Berry, black fruit nose; berry, black fruit palate; short-medium finish 87+ pts. (87 pts.)
  • 2008 Argento Bonarda - Argentina, Mendoza
    Aromatic, tart plum, black fruit nose; tart, wild berry, black fruit, fig palate; medium-plus finish (89 pts.)

Filus

  • 2008 Filus Torrontés - Argentina, Mendoza
    Lime, green fruit nose; oily textured, lime, green fruit palate; medium finish (90 pts.)
  • 2007 Medrano Estate Malbec - Argentina, Mendoza
    Charcoal, black fruit nose; tight charcoal, black fruit palate; medium finish 88+ pts. (88 pts.)
  • 2007 Medrano Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Argentina, Mendoza
    Deep berry, fig nose; tight black fruit, fig, berry palate; medium finish (89 pts.)
  • 2007 Filus Malbec - Argentina, Mendoza
    Black fruit nose with depth and a savory quality; tart black fruit, tar palate; medium finish 88+ pts. (88 pts.)
  • 2007 Filus Malbec Reserve - Argentina, Mendoza
    Black fruit nose; tart black fruit, plum, oak palate; medium-plus finish (88 pts.)

Norton

  • 2006 Bodega Norton Privada - Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo
    Black fruit, tobacco, herbal nose; black fruit, herbal, charcoal palate; medium finish (89 pts.)
  • 2008 Bodega Norton Malbec Perdriel - Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo
    Big black fruit nose; black fruit, berry palate; medium-plus finish 90+ pts. (90 pts.)

Pascual Toso

Sur de los Andes

Terrazas de Los Andes

Valentin Bianchi

Viña Cobos

Viñas de Altura

Posted from CellarTracker

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I missed the NY event yesterday, since I was at the Spanish class, but Bianchi Torrontes is a real bargain. We retail it for $8.99 (less case discount) and I love it!

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Richard, sorry to hear about your awful experience. I was at the NY tasting during the day, and thankfully had more time and less to contend with. There was a tango performance, which I liked, and it was not so obtrusive in the NY space (which was kept lit) that I couldn’t keep on tasting.

Our scores on the wines were for the most part, close (which didn’t surprise me because I’ve found that to generally be the case when we rate the same wine on CT). You liked the Nortons and Pascual Tosos more than I did, but we agreed almost down to the point on the Alta Vista and Terrazas lines. My top wines were Monteviejo Lindaflor, the O. Fournier Crux wines, and some of the Finca Decero wines… unfortunately, I missed Vina Cobos.

Overall, I have to say that I came away pleasantly surprised by the wines. I thought I knew the malbecs out there, but it has been a year or two since I’ve tasted them and I feel improvement in general. Found some crazy QPRs which I’ll be collecting into a vlog episode at some point…

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Alan,

Thank you for sharing your experience at the New York version. Sounds like they might have learned something from the SF debacle. I’m glad you found some new Malbecs to like.

warm regards,
Richard