No Wine Over $20-Reviews and the LA Wine Scene

You know how it is. You spend a couple weeks in Argentina including a week just in Mendoza staring at the Andes [ed. the view from Vistalba] and tasting wines and you find stuff you really like. You have to decide "do I haul some back or have some shipped?" If you want to ship a case from Argentina via DHL it will set you back $240/case. So add $20/bottle to your U20 winners. Or you can join The Vines of Medoza wine club Acequia. The Vines has much of what you like on their impressive list and they ship for a lot less ( I mean a LOT LESS) than DHL.

[ed. alert: The Wall Street Journal published an article March 29 2008 on The Vines vineyard business.]

Why not join the club? I have no problem accepting wines selected by people in which I have complete confidence, especially if they are Vines staff Mariana Onofri or Pedro Cubillos. Wait a minute. I live in LA. I can find most of these wines, especially my favorites, in Los Angeles. LA baby. Bigger than New Yawk. Anything you want.

WRONG. I returned with must-buy wines from Colomé, La Azul and Walter Bressia. Of these three I have found only the Colomé at Hi Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa! Fortunately, my tBoW tasting team supervisor who lives in Orange County had knee surgery recently so I was able to stop by and pick up more of what was certainly the most fascinating wine tBoW tasted in Argentina; that would be Colomé. I know every serious wine store in SoCal and most in the Bay Area but, except for Hi Time, when it comes to a premium selection of Argentine wines you can fuggedaboudid. [ed. this opinion since softened by actually locating desirable Argentina wines in a few accessible stores...as reported below].

By the way, I had not been to the legendary OC wine store - Hi Time Wine Cellars - in at least 15 years. The selection is outstanding, comprehensive and DEEP. The buyers are doing a super job.

So I do the best I can and buy what I can find in LA. Here is my story.

2007 Zolo Torrontes $8.50: So here is the good news. In the few weeks I have been working the 5/405 corridor for evidence of decent Argentine wine I found this delightful Torrontes; first at $11 in Long Beach (Wine Country in Long Beach, nice store) then the Missus found it in Gelsons for even less. This is everything I want in Argentine wine. Floral nose, pears and peaches on the palate with firm acids to give it more than just a sappy flabby flavor. From grapes grown at 3,000 feet in La Rioja. Torrontes is the all-purpose all-star grape. Purr-fect. At 13.5 % it is a bit stout. Spectator gave it an 86. Every time I see a Spectator rating I actually snicker. Oh, not quite up to an 87 you say? How about 8.5 as in dollars and cents.

2007 Elsa Bianchi Torrontes $8: Purchased at K&L Hollywood. From San Rafael which is in the southern part of Mendoza province, about 1,000 ft above sea level. Lively fruit, floral nose. Summer wine. Very nice. Has some Riesling character. Held up well over next 3 days. A great buy for an outdoor June wedding. 12.5%

2006 Orfila Torrontes $10: It means something when a 30 million case winery can produce a wine this nice. Here is what it means. Torrontes from Salta's Cafayate valley is the mark of excellence. This wine has the mineral and acid backbone we love in summer wines along with the Torrontes Rielsing-like character. Fab. Of course, good luck finding it. I found it in the Hollywood Carniceria Argentina. Next to the soap. 13.3%

2006 Don David Reserve Torrontes $16: Michel Torino Estate from Cafayate vineyards above Salta at 5600 ft. Right away the alcohol (13.9%) is evident. Gives it spine. More intense fruit on the nose and in the mouth. Showing stronger character and impresses us over the Elsa. Overnight it turns into Limoncello with the alcohol overtaking the fruit. I prefer the Elsa!

2003 / 2004 Vistalba Corte B $25: I tasted the 2004 in Mendoza. I found the 2003 at my local vendor, Woodland Hills Wine Co. We tasted it in Mendoza at the Carlos Pulenta bodega. There is also a Corte A and Corte C. Corte is the term commonly used to signifiy a blended wine. In the 2003 vintage (14.2%) the blend is Malbec (42%), Cabernet (32%), Bonnarda and Merlot. The 2004 blend (14.5%) tasted in Mendoza blended Malbec (57%), Cabernet (30%) and there is no Merlot. The 2004 was $31 on the La Bourgogne wine list. The wine shows luscious blueberries. Judged it excellent and resolved to buy it in LA. The 2003 has one quarter less Malbec. The Cabernet is more prominent and there is no Merlot. The Cabernet dominates the flavors...for the worse. A fruity keeper, dense, if you like Cab. If you like what Merlot does with Malbec...and I definitely do...look for the 2004.

2005 Vistalba Corte C $11: Found it at Hi Time in Costa Mesa. Not bad, not great. 85% Malbec and the rest Merlot. The blend I prefer but this is ripe, high acid fruit. Not balanced. Open over three days. Should have opened. The Merlot proportion could and should contribute more if it were closer to 30%. Alcohol at 14%.

2004 Salentein Malbec $19: Estate bottling from one of the premier Valle de Uco wineries. Bought this in the Argentinan Carniceria in North Hollywood. I was on the hunt! I did not taste many Salentein wines in Argentina but those I did taste I liked. None were Malbec. Finding the 2004 vintage is cool as the current release is 2006. Vineyards are just below 4,000 ft. Tannins have softened. Dotoré says lay it down and I think I will. High valley mineral fruit. Hint of citrus.

2005 Benvenuto de la Serna $15: This Uco Valley winery produces single grape wines from Malbec, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauv and Merlot. Thank goodness they also produce this 60/40 Malbec/Merlot wine. Fruity and forward to be sure. Also tasty and balanced. Ended up the popular bottle on this evening. Purchased at K&L. 13.5%

2006 Bundini Malbec $7: A screwtop cap (good!). A fruity blend that goes down easy. This is your go-to-BBQ blend. Purchased at K&L. I would guess Lujan fruit. Ripe, soft. So much comes out of there it is only a matter of time before there are custom crushes galore.

2003 Salentein Pinot Noir $19: Another wine reminiscent of something we tasted in Mendoza. We had the 2005 at the Bodegas Salentein. It was 15.5% alcohol and fruity. This is not. Flavors at coffee and caramel. Could be storage as I bought this at a carniceria in Hollywood. Another example of what is on the shelves in the darnedest places. Because, there is an Argentine community who will buy these wines and nobody knows any different. Until now.

2005 Mendel Malbec $24: Old vines (70 years plus). Rich, coffee and caramel flavors. Another bottle readily available throughout SoCal. Does not make my tongue twitch.

2005 La Posta Cocina $16: 60% Malbec, 20% Bonnarda and 20% Syrah. Nice to see Syrah is grown in Mendoza. Rich flavors, bright fruit. Italian style. The Bonnarda changes everything. A better blend than with Cab but not my fave.

2005 Kaiken Malbec Reserva $12: This is one of the Argentine wines that made my hot list in Mendoza. Bought at Wine Country in Signal Hill (ask for Nancy).This wine is nicely structured which means it holds together, presenting a consistent palate of ripe dark fruit backed by moderate tannins and balanced overall. Long finish that is wholly pleasing. Has 7% Cabernet Sauvignon which works well in this amount giving the wine some added character. Blows away the Corte C. 14.6%

To summarize, the good news is that Torrontes can be found. I think I would buy any Torrontes just to see what it was like. It is that steady. The bad news is not one of the Argentine wines purchased in and around LA that are reviewed here were tasted in Argentina. I did find earlier vintages of the same label and varietal which was better than nada. And I did discover wines from regions I recognized and favored which was good. However, I remain on the hunt for the wines that stuck a hook in my brain as I stared at the Andes.

Availability Update: I contacted the importer for Andeluna wines and was provided a list of 13 SoCal shops that carry Andeluna wines. I did a web search for half and found one Andeluna wine in stock; Andeluna's lowest end product. The importer, San Francisco Wine Exchange, says they just received their container with the reserves so I should look for these in fine wine shops served by California distributor Henry Wine Group. I did find their 2005 Malbec Winemakers Selection at The Wine House in West LA for $11. Not exactly what I was looking for but certainly worth a try. Hey - I bought those plastic tasting glasses for under $2 apiece. Nice value. Hope they are neutral.

Bottom line, last word, final say...while there are many nice Argentina wines to be found in LA, we are not getting the really great wines. And these wines we are not getting do not cost more than $20 (well maybe the Bressia). Conclusion? An industry still in development. Looks like I gotta go back!

[ed. This is the third post on Argentina wines. While we are trying to mix things up with other reviews and stories tBoW is not close to being finished with Argentina wines. There are two posts in the queue and a summer of asados on the horizon].

Once I began reading about the Uco valley (Internet trip planning) I knew I had to visit. [ed. one of many spectacular views in the valley, this from Bodega Salentien] It just sounded too incredible: the region where the big money was taking up roost; bodegas spread even more few and far between than Maipu or Lujan du Cuyo, highest altitude vineyards in Mendoza province, and proximity to the second largest peak, Tupungato at over19,000 feet, in the Andes. Knowing there would be a major peak that I could actually see with the naked eye while touring vineyards was important because it meant I could easily torpedo any move to take a day-long bus ride (10 hours) to Aconcagua, the tallest Andean peak that can only be seen after a long bus ride up the mountain and which is a popular tourist activity when at a loss for what to do next in Mendoza. When my team was at a loss for what to do next in Mendoza we asked Posada de Rosas hostess Ellen and she suggested we have lunch in the Parque San Martin where tourists seldom ventured. As usual she was perfectly correct.

Before we review the day in Valle de Uco, I want to finish the second half of the previous day in Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo. After touring Bodegas Tempus Alba and Achaval Ferrer we were driven to the Carlos Pulenta compound in Lujan de Cuyo where we were set to have lunch at the Mendoza's finest restaurant La Bourgogne followed by a bodega tour. One can be easily fooled by a first look at the Pulenta facility. It presents as a familiar Latino rectangular compound centered around an open courtyard. There is a posada with a few rooms above the entrance and the restaurant is at the other end of the central pathway. the bodega? All underground. And it is huge.

The bodega tour was efficient. We saw the fermentation tanks and long open storage rooms. Unlike any other winery I have seen, the bottles are stored for aging individually in piles along the walls. This requires multiple opportunities to break them form the excessive handling, from the bottling line, to the storage area, back to the bottling line for labeling, and then into the shipping cases. The most interesting part of the tour was the tasting room (pictured here). I was not interested in tasting any Pulenta wines but I was very interested in examining the wall of Lujan dirt that comprised the room's longest wall.

The lunch is worth mentioning. The food was very good but the service, as noted by tasting team member PeeWee, was "indifferent". We ordered the 2004 Vistalba Corte B from the wine list ($31 US) which was anything but indifferent. Vistalba is one of many Pulenta's lines. Corte is the Argentine word for a blend. There is also a Corte A and C. Corte B blends 57% Malbec, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 13% Bonnarda. Blueberry flavors. Feel was luscious. Liked it mucho [ed. even with all the cab?] Made a note to buy it in LA. Price is $25. Corte A blends Malbec and Cab in more equal amounts, but the Corte C is the one I have to try. It is 85% Malbec and 15% Merlot which, in my view, is the better blend.

and now...at long last...the Valle de Uco...

Riding to the valley is kind of like driving from LA up the backside of the California Sierras to Mammoth Mountain, except the ride is much shorter. We head south form Mendoza on Highway 42 which is like Route 66 in that it traverses the country at its longest points, north to south. Rustic, low scrub chapparal, two lane blacktop. You know you are in the boonies when the Difunte Correa and Gauchito Gil shrines start showing up alongside the road. Here is another website about Difunte Correa, the "unofficial" national saint who, along with Gil, is not recognized as divine by the Catholic Church. We crested a long hill and there was the valley with its spectacular mountains that command your eyes to continually stare...until we hit the first bodega

Salentein is the Pulenta compound in spades. It is a posada, an art gallery and a bodega in three separate buildings each occupying its own acre in a triangle arrangement. The photo above shows the walk form the gallery to the winery. I wanted to stay here but could not arrange it. The bodega, like Pulenta, is underground, however, you could fit about six Pulenta facilities into this one. If you have ever visited the Medici Tombs you have an idea of the scale and spectacle. I had to ask the guide who was buried here. The place is stupefyingly stupendous.

The place is almost overwhelming with its multiple underground levels. Art is not just in the gallery but everywhere...inside and outside This piece is adjacent to the elevator door between hose storage and the "temple" storage room. Eventually - and we were in no rush - we arrived at the tasting room. Here is what they poured us.

2006 Salentein Chardonnay $17: High acid on the nose. Tastes like chardonnay with higher acid than I expect. No tropical flavors. 6 months oak. 14%

2003 Salentein Merlot$15: Black olive on the nose. Smoky. Not impressive. 14.5%

2004 Salentein Pinot Noir $17: Smoke on the nose. Meaty fruit like a thick fleshy plum. Some barnyard, lightweight. Too much alcohol. Surprising the fruit is so nice. 15.5%

Salentein's premium line is Primus, not tasted. I have found that Salentein wines are not easy to locate, at least in LA. This is a shame because they are very good value and decent wines. They offer a wide range of varietals, as well.

Bodega Andeluna is the creation of Ward Lay, of Frito-Lay. That is correct. The same man who brought the world cheet-ohs owns a world class winery in Valle de Uco. We had a fabulous experience here. This was our lunch stop and, unlike the other "premium" dining spot, this was the top stop for the entire trip.

We never did the bodega tour because lunching with Chef Pablo cooking and serving us was too much to hurry through. Because we took the premium tasting meal we did taste some really nice wines...and ate some truly special food...and had some excellent chatting with Chef Pablo. Here are the wines...Michel Rolland gets consulting credit. San Francisco Wine Exchange imports.

2005 Andeluna Chardonnay: Baking soda, and oak on the nose. Good acid. Taste the wood. Generic. 13.4%

2005 Andeluna Chardonnay Reserve: Faint hint of sulfur and minerals on the nose, green olives. Nice mineral flavors. Oak is way in the back. Lemon cream. Meringue. This is a chard I can drink! Grown at 4,000 feet with 12 months in French oak. 13.1%. Bravo!

2005 Andeluna Merlot: Rosy nose, floral. Asparagus emerges. Olives after several minutes. Fruit forward with tannic reserve. Flabby, too sweet (ripe) and fruity. Michel Rolland all over this wine. 14%

2006 Andeluna Malbec $8: Buttered popcorn. White pepper. Younger, spicy. Lean middleweight. Excellent. Rich. Chef Pablo loves this wine. At this U10 price it is a total bargain. 14.2%.

2004 Andeluna Malbec Limited Reserve: Spicy and light citric nose. Lighter weight than expected. Balanced nicely. Tannic. 18 months in new oak. Complex and structured in a purposeful way. Cognac flavors which means high alcohol. Some caramel on finish. 14.7%

2003 Andeluna Pasianado: Blend of 20% Malbec, 35% Merlot, 35% Cab Sauv and 10% Cab Franc. Smells great. Caramel on the nose. But it is jammy, some red currants, bologna, prosciutto. Has some weight, smooth going down. 14.7%

The Missus says it tastes a lot like a wine Jim Moore, or Bob Mueller, a couple of those under-the-radar Napa winemakers covered by tBoW, who have just been making great wines for a slew of folks over numerous decades. Jim's label is l'Uvaggio di Giacomoand he used to make a wine named Parador. Bob is the winemaker at McKenzie-Mueller, profiled on this blog several times.

Now if we can just figure out where to buy some!!