The Pleasure of Argentina; 700 Wines Tasted

It was a great pleasure to taste so many excellent wines while we were in Argentina for two weeks in April in Buenos Aries and Mendoza. JamesSuckling.com tasted wines from all the key regions of Argentina and organized the trip and tasting ourselves. We tasted more than 700 wines

We want to thank Winery & Company, the group of top wine shops in Buenos Aires, for the access to their tasting room in one of their stores and for organizing samples.

This was the best tasting trip to Argentina yet following three other trips over the last two years. More and more wines show balance and finesse as the best winemakers look to produce wines that communicate their unique regions, soils and microclimates. Moreover, so many say that they want to make wines to drink instead of some notion from marketers or consulting enologists. You can read my article here to learn more. 

One of the most interesting moments on the trip was a dinner with the owner of Michael Gernot Langes-Swarovski. He brought a few old bottles from the winery's cellars in Mendoza including a fabulous 1974 malbec, 1959 semillon, and 1950 cabernet sauvignon. They were all beautiful and balanced with such length and refinement. The resembled European wines from excellent vintages with the same age emphasizing the freshness and acidity of the wines as well as subtle fruit and terroir character. 

The experience underlined for me and my team that Argentina really no longer needs to make "blockbuster" or "fruit-driven" wines but should focus on its pedigree of winemaking. We can't wait to taste the coming vintages. Granted, 2016 and 2015 were challenging due to the rain before and during the harvests, but many outstanding wines are in the future from Argentina.

Below are the more than 700 wines we tasted in Argentina in April. Most were tasted blind. 

Photos: Tasting a range of Argentine wines; Abremundos Valle de Uco Octava Alta 2013; Trapiche malbec cabernet franc Mendoza Iscay 2011; and old bottles of wines 

-James Suckling, editor, and Jacobo Andrade Garcia Llamas, senior editor