Argentina’s ‘extreme wines’ lead the way in this year’s tasting

Argentine wine: The best and the worst

This said, weak and insipid wines were equally represented in the tasting as Argentina continues to grapple with its role (particularly the United States) as a key supplier of cheap wine, mostly malbec. The gap between outstanding wines and poor ones continues to grow each year as Argentine wine producers are forced to lower prices, making it almost impossible for some to make wines that are palatable, or even drinkable.

The production of attractive and prettily labeled bottles for supermarkets or restaurant chains that are filled with poor wine does no favors to anyone, particularly Argentine wineries themselves. But business is business for some winemakers and wine merchants. They have little choice.

Luckily, we tasted so many exciting wines this year that we didn’t have to focus on this vinous graveyard.

Take for example two breathtaking 100-point 2017 reds: Catena Zapata Malbec Mendoza Adrianna Vineyard River Stones and Cheval des Andes Mendoza. The Catena Zapata is one of the greatest malbecs ever made, showing incredible depth and structure with a perfection in fruit, acid and tannin balance. The Cheval des Andes can finally hold its own with its sister wine in Bordeaux, the great growth of Cheval Blanc, with an uncanny harmony and strength and an array of flavors and sensations. This wine will not be released until next year.

Plus, we discovered many new and exciting wines in our tasting, from two incredible Patagonian chardonnays made by Burgundy’s legend Jean-Marc Roulot with Piero Incisa della Rocchetta of Bodega Chacra (Bodega Chacra Chardonnay Patagonia 2018 and Bodega Chacra Chardonnay Patagonia Mainqué 2018) to a new estate-produced pinot noir from the Catena family called Domaine Nico Pinot Noir Valle de Uco Soeur et Freres Le Paradis 2017, which they hope will become the Domaine de la Romanee Conti of Argentina.

The Argentina malbec factor

I also want to emphasize how lucky Argentina is to have made its reputation with malbec. The grape is so versatile, with the ability to produce cheap and cheerful reds with wonderful quaffability, as well as refined, structured and complex wines that have the subtlety and strength of a world class pinot noir.

I still remember tasting a malbec in February that sells for around $10 a bottle at Costco – the Kirkland Signature Malbec Mendoza 2018 (91 points). It was bright, toned and delicious and reminded me of drinking a juicy and satisfying Beaujolais. I also tasted a bold and powerful yet harmonious and focused single vineyard malbec that costs about $160 a bottle: Viña Cobos Malbec Mendoza Cobos Chañares Vineyard 2016 (98 points). These and more were all part of our tasting in Mendoza.

And while most of Argentina’s wine kudos goes to the region of Mendoza, Patagonia remains mysterious and fascinating with pinot noir and chardonnay that are unique in personality and world class in quality. Hats off to Bodega Chacra (again) but also a number of others such as Wapisa. The region is also successfully using other grape varieties to make exciting wines such as malbec (Bodega Noemia) and even semillon (Matias Riccitelli).

“I am very positive of the future in Argentina,” says Jose Pepe Zuccardi, the head of one of the best wineries in Argentina, Familia Zuccardi. “We have a great young generation who make great wines and understands their soils and vineyards. We are making exciting wines and some of the best ever. We don’t worry about the economy and politics and the rest. We just want to make great wines. It’s all positive.”

Argentina winemakers turn to terroir

Zuccardi and his son Sebastian are two of many who are looking for meaning in their winemaking in Argentina by focusing on terroir-driven wines that illustrate what makes their vineyards unique. They continue to make more precise wines such as single parcel wines from single vineyards that they believe truly communicate Argentina’s great winemaking, instead of wines created in blending rooms or in the offices of marketers or importers for particular segments of the market. Zuccardi’s and others’ top wines transmit exactly where they are from and offer a unique and sensational tasting experience.

“Every wine must talk about place, people and the year,” says Sebastian Zuccardi, son of Jose Pepe. “This is the most important.”

We agree wholeheartedly, and we looked for wines in our tasting that clearly communicate the provenance and quality of Argentina. The fact that it doesn’t seem to matter what the grape type is – although I have a soft spot for malbec and chardonnay – makes it all the more exciting. This strong personality is the core of what makes Argentine wines so satisfying and fun to drink.

“We spend so much time studying our soils and microclimates in our vineyards,” says Herve Birine-Scott, the head of Moet-Hennessy’s operations in Argentina that includes Las Terrazas de los Andes, Chandon and Cheval des Andes. His team makes excellent wines from massive bottlings of malbec to tiny selections of old vine parcels of cabernet sauvignon and malbec. “We want our wines to communicate our uniqueness here in Mendoza.”

Argentina 2017 and 2018 wines return to form

The two most recent vintages – 2018 and 2017 - from Argentina are certainly going to help the communication, particularly after the three difficult years before. “The 2018 may turn out to be the greatest vintage in Argentina of my career,” admits Michel Rolland, the legendary winemaker who pioneered fine winemaking in the country.

Many outstanding wines were still made in 2014, 2015 and 2016, but you had to be selective due to the varying degrees of rain before and during the harvest in those years. We certainly found some exciting bottles from these years in our tasting in February and they showed an intrinsic freshness and balance from the cooler and less ripe years.

But 2017 and 2018 should deliver more and better wines. “We are really trying to interpret each vintage now and it’s important to show our terroir,” says Cheval des Andes winemaker Gérald Gabillet. “We want to keep the freshness and tension of the wines.”

His statement reminds me of what many top winemakers have said about current releases from the recent difficult harvests: it helped them understand that they could make more balanced and fresher wines compared to the fruit and oak bombs of five or six years ago. And happily, the overdone wines of the past are less and less available in the market, including the few late releases coming on to the market in our tastings this year.