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

It is the worst of times for home prices. They just keep falling. It is the best of times for the best of wines. When wine prices start sinking that is a good thing. Excellent wine values just seem to keep on coming. When we started this blog we thought we were busting new ground. Not exactly. Looks like we were just feeling the pulse of a wine market losing its glitz. Good!
The absurdly priced trophy wines need to clear out. Mondo Vino is correct. Robert Parker is narrow-palated. Storm the Bastille of Bombastic Bordeaux. Beaujolais, Cote du Rhone, Languedoc! Savoie, St. Chinian, Minervois!

Here are some recent tastes while preparing another Molotov for the aristocratic folks over at World of Wine!

2002 East Valley Vineyard Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir $30 then: Kudos to Wades Wines for bringing this one to our attention. Dave Dascomb has a day job at some technology firm in Goleta. When he isn't building GPS (spy) satellites he tends the family vineyard up in Santa Ynez. He makes the wine too. Rustic, simple, deep Santa Rita Hills fruit. This vintage produced 55 cases. Can you buy better wine for $30? Maybe. But can you buy better Pinot Noir from SRH at this price? Not likely. I would buy this one again. 14.2%. Low for those parts.

2004 Perrin & Fils Chateuneuf du Pape Les Sinards $23 (Costco): Grenache from the homestead of the Tablas Creek partners. Softer than Paso juice. Lovely perfumed nose. Doughy. Lip smackin' good. Smooooth. I know it does not sound appealing but I am left with the impression of doggy biscuit on a long finish. I guess that is some dusty earth. Definitely resembles the TC style. 14%

2005 In Extremis Chateau d'Agel $23 (Costco): Minervois wine of Syrah and probably Carignane. Very tasty. Rich red "robe" (color). Black berry nose with spice and pepper. Minervois in the Languedoc is known for more mineral and leaner wines. This is not exactly that. Must have been a hot harvest?
But it ain't Parker either. And I will tell you something else - somebody is buying some really interesting wines for Costco. Like this little gem. I am seeing Rhones, the Sud. I would not be surprised at all to find a Hermitage Blanc soon! Tasting just perfect for the summer that is threatening to break out now here in SoCal. 14.5% alcohol.

And one for the road...
2003 McKenzie-Mueller Malbec $30: As I am getting ready for a trip to Argentina I have decided I need to become at least a bit more familiar with the Malbec varietal. Bob Mueller makes this wine in each vintage. Nice red fruit nose and flavors. Cinnamon, allspice and tarry finish. Reading tells me tar is not unusual in the more extracted style. Not a fruit bomb nut kinda fruity. 14% Cant' wait.

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].

For the busy readers of this blog who just want the purity of essence, here are the highlights in brief: (1) when touring Mendoza bodegas you need a driver and reservations; (2) the bodegas we visited in Lujan de Cuyo and Maipu made excellent wine, and (3) Valle de Uco is the must-see region. The photo is one view from Achaval Ferrer in Lujan de Cuyo.

One of the highlights of any trip to Mendoza is touring the bodegas (wineries, schmendrick). This is not Napa, or Sonoma or Paso, or Bordeaux, or Piemonte, or Languedoc. It is most like Languedoc in that the bodegas are spread out few and far between. And everywhere there are vineyards. It is Argentina and has quite possibly the world's finest growing conditions for producing great wines.

We visited the following bodegas: Tempus Alba, Achaval Ferrer, Carlos Pulenta (Vistalba), Salentein, and Andeluna. We were set to taste at La Azul but we dawdled so long at Andeluna (meal o' trip) that we blew that one. I crawled through an opening hole in the entry wall and went on the grounds to take a couple photos of the very humble bodega.

Although I am working with a small sample of only five bodegas I believe they are somewhat representative of the region and the wine scene. Because there are 1,200 bodegas in Mendoza I am willing to bet no more than 100 produce more than 100,000 cases annually. The smallest of the five bodegas we visited produces about 12,000 cases (Achaval Ferrer) which leaves a lot of boutique wineries waiting to be discovered...in Mendoza province and elsewhere.

The purportedly 1,200 bodegas in Mendoza produce 70% to 80% (depending on your source) of Argentina's wine production. I purchased incomplete regional maps showing the locations of bodegas that paid to be included. Unfortunately, there is not a comprehensive bodega map available online or on the street. If there was one it would be well worth a reasonable price to the turista. [ed. I paid $10 online for a map of Recoleta Cemetery which made all the difference.] If bodegas were listed at no charge then turistas could be confident most if not all bodegas were represented. The map for Valle de Uco, for example, does not include the legendary (at least in my mind) bodega La Azul. Perhaps their meager (precious?) 500 case production does not support the cost for inclusion.

While Mendoza is the nation's dominant wine growing region there are other areas. Most notable are Cafayate north of Salta and the Rio Negro region in Patagonia. The map below gives a quick idea of Argentina's wine regions. posada in the Andean valley of Calchaqui. Nothing but high-altitude vines and wines, and peaceful (blissful?) days. Add a mountain bike and I am in heaven (and probably passed out from the elevation). Take a look at this March 2007 video shot at Colomé. I will not be happy until I am there!

OK. I am officially obsessed with Bodega Colomé. Here is the same guy tasting the award winning Torrontes and Malbec on the grounds of Colomé as he puts it as high as Europe's famous ski resorts.

[ed. Colomé alert. Hi Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa (ask for Patty Quick) carries the Colomé Malbec and Torrontes. As my high school English teacher used to remind us "a word to the wise is sufficient". The Malbec is wonderful. You want the Torrontes.]

That is a lot of writing about a winery we did not visit. How about two we did?

Tempus Alba is located in the Maipu region of Mendoza about 10 kilometers outside the city. There are a couple things to make clear about bodega touring in Mendoza. Word is you need a reservation. I can verify this as every one of the wineries we pulled up to had a gate and a guard who checked his reservation list. You need a driver. It is not that the driving is so difficult. It is a matter of reading the signs, or lack thereof. We had the same guy for two days and he and his late model Chrysler van were much appreciated.

Tempus has three vineyards; one each in Valle de Uco, Lujan de Cuyo and Maipu. Their Maipu vineyard is at the lowest elevation (2,600 feet). Malbec from Maipu shows a distinct hint of citrus, i.e., orange peel, in the nose and mouth. We noticed it first in Buenos Aires at Tomo 1. Our Tempus Alba hostess confirmed it for us as we sampled a flight of seven wines on the outdoor patio [ed. prices in US$$].

2005 Tempus Alba Tempranillo $15: Notable acid backbone. Good fruit. Not my grape. 13.9% We did note that Tempranillo is a popular varietal.

2007 Tempus Alba Malbec Rosé $10: Nothing wrong with this wine except that IMHO Malbec does not an attractive rosé make. Now Syrah...that does an attractive rosé make. Channeling Yoda. 14%

2005 Tempus Alba Syrah: White pepper nose. Sweet flavor. Not like the Syrahs I know from France or California. Not bad either. 13.9%. THis was one of a few Argentine Syrahs I liked.

2005 Tempus Alba Malbec $13: Ripe, moderately tannic. Citric nose and flavor. Naranja. Bacon, cured ham. Like this one. 14.1%.

2003 Tempus Alba Pleno $22: The big finish big ticket wine. Also a medal winner. 60% Malbec and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. Ripe figs on the nose. Fig Newtons in the flavor. Too sweet for me. Overripe. I concluded the Malbec/Cab blend is my least favorite. 14.1%

2004 Tempus Alba Cabernet Sauvignon: Rich flavors. Heavyweight cab. Not a cab guy. 14%

Next stop Achaval Ferrer, the bodega most frequently associated with excellence and achievement in Argentine winemaking, is only 10 years old. It is a partnership of six men, four Argentine investors from business and two Italians from winemaking backgrounds. While Tempus Alba refers to themselves as a big boutique (350,000 cases) Achaval Ferrer is truly a boutique bodega in spirit, intention and production.

We barrel and bottle tasted at this very impressive bodega where the commitment to excellence is authentic. Like Tempus Alba the bodega is set up for gravity flow, equipment is modern and the facility appears spanking clean. I did snap the photo below of a worker stomping down what looks like stems. Like Tempus Alba grapes originate from vineyards throughout Mendoza's finest regions, ranging in altitude from 2,000 to 3,500 feet. Achaval Ferrer is imported to Southern California by TGIC Importers and is available at local vendor Woodland Hills Wine Company.

Achaval Ferrer produces five wines; three vineyard designated (fincas), a premium blend and the normal Malbec. Interestingly, Achaval Ferrer has ceased posting tasting notes on its website! So you better get them here! Here is what we tasted from barrel...

2007 Achaval Ferrer Cabernet Sauvignon: Spicy nose. PeeWee detects tapioca (vanilla from oak?). 12 months in barrel.

2007 Achaval Ferrer Merlot: Camphor in the nose, herbal aromas. Promising.

2007 Achaval Ferrer Cabernet Franc: Balsamic nose, minty. Interesting. Good thing they blend these.

And from bottle...

2007 Quimera $40: This their premium blend of 40% Malbec, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Now we know where the grapes go. Yeasty, doughy on the nose.Tannic. Dry finish. Will take years. I will buy the blend that reverses the Cab Sauv and Cab France proportions.

The flagship wines are the single vineyard Malbecs; Finca Altamira, Finca Mirador and Finca Bella Vista. These are all outstanding wines, but one stands head and shoulders over the others. We tasted samples from the most recently released vintages.

2005 Achaval Ferrer Finca Mirador Malbec $75: From a 2400 foot vineyard in the Medrano region of Mendoza. 12 months in barrel. Pronounced citrus flavors. 577 cases produced. 13%.

2005 Achaval Ferrer Finca Altamira Malbec $75: The Valle de Uco vineyard at 3,600 feet. Tea on the nose. Acidic. Warm finish. Chewy, caramel. You would think it was higher alcohol but only 13%. 670 cases.

2004 Achaval Ferrer Finca Bella Vista $100: Ladies and gentlemen we have a champion. And it will cost you. Could even be worth it although there are at least a couple competitors from Argentina in this price range. Candy flavors, Life savers. Refined. Elegant. Powdery vanilla scents and flavors. Exotic. 3,200 foot vineyard. 13.9% The 2005 and 2006 vintages of Bella Vista were lost to hail. The 2007 will be the next release. Look for it.

2006 Achaval Ferrer Malbec Mendoza $18: Fruity, soft tannins. Not a keeper nor is it intended to be. Achaval Ferrer produces 8,000 cases of Malbec Mendoza from vineyards at 2,500 feet in Lujan du Cuyo and Maipu. In this price range I think there are better Malbecs. 13.5%

An example of a better wine in the U20 group is the 2005 Filus Reserve Malbec. This $12 wine from Hi Time Wine Cellars has everything I learned to enjoy in Argentine Malbec wines; Maipu fruit (Lulunta Valley, must be near Medrona [ed. in fact it is]), no Cabernet in the blend (in fact it is 100% Malbec), and low alcohol. Has the mocha and citrus like an exotic dark chocolate bar from Venezuela and the tannins to go a few years. Turns out Filus produces the La Boca label that can be found in TJs. [ed. Tell them you met the guy in Mendoza who designed the label]. Congrats to Patty Q for picking this one out of the pack. Heads up: Filus bottles single vineyards. Checkumout Patty! Something tells me there are plenty more bodegas like this one in Mendoza's pool of 1,200.

That was one half day touring. Next up Salentein and Andeluna in the spectacular Valle de Uco.

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!!

Hopefully, you have read the posts on bodega touring in Lujan and Maipu and Valle de Uco, dining and wining in Mendoza, and Argentine wines found and purchased in LA. Here is the list of the best wines tasted by the tBoW team in Mendoza. We have tasted other Argentine wines found in SoCal but they are not covered in this post. Where possible, I am providing the importer, distributor and retailer in LA or anywhere. Lets' get to it.

tBoW's TOP NINE WINES FROM ARGENTINA...

One more minute. Let me tell you about the best restaurant in Buenos Aires that is not a tourist steakhouse where we found #9...

Tomo 1 (uno) is on the second story above a cheesy hotel close to downtown Buenos Aires. The room has about 20 tables. A couple of sisters well past their 60s moved their San Telmo restaurant to this location in order to go upscale (and probably post higher prices in line with all the praise they received for their inventive and peerless dishes.) Moving from San Telmo is like going from the East Village to Midtown. At least. We had three long term memorable meals in Argentina, one in Buenos Aires. This was it. We ordered five desserts: 2 dulce de leches (the Missus still seeking close replication for Argentina's caramel classic); an apple tartane; and two desserts that sounded so incredible we had to try both. First, a scoop of arugula sherbet with cardomon ice cream on top. Outrageously good. Indescribable. I will forget my birth town before I forget this. Second, pink grapefruit wedges in a gewurtztraminer and pear soup. Served in a martini glass. Uncle Don would call it fruit cocktail but then he refers to cordon bleu as ham and swiss.

Number 1 (M.I.A.)
2003 La Azul Reserve $20: What can I say. The memory fades as time passes and I fear I may never again taste my blue wine. I have borrowed an image from a touring blog Lost on Purpose. Now I am just ill that we blew this tasting. Even though we had more time with Chef Pablo at Andeluna I do think we missed something special. Blend of Malbec, Cab Sauvignon and Merlot. Woman winemaker - Flavia Manterola - from Valle de Uco. 500 case production. Sweetness in the nose. Minty, reminds me of Phelps Insignia character. Nicely balanced. Has to be more Merlot than Cab. Tasted it twice in country. Great both times. 14.3%. We will never see it!!!

Number 2 (found it! In Virginia!)
2005 Bressia Monteagrelo Malbec $26: One of the top two wines tasted in country. Amazingly, I may have found it nearby (within 100 miles). 100% Malbec juice. Smooth and thick but not like syrup. Just viscous. Deep flavors of black cherry with some polished and buffed wood. Think mahogany. Beautiful robe. Delicious nose. Winner! Pay the front line! Just so you know, tBoW also tasted the sparkler 2006 Brut Nature and the higher priced red 2004 Profundo. The sparkler was very very good. Great value at $30 and 12%. The Profundo was bought off the wine list at the fancy Pulenta restaurant; $45 and 13.5%. Over-ripe, blend of mostly Cab, Syrah, Merlot and Malbec. Fruit and charcoal. I ordered this online from Virginia. Fran Kysela via Timeless Wines is bringing it into the USA. Having some trouble getting it all the way out here on the West Coast. Like flat screens...hard to find them way out here in the western region of the country.

Number 3 (found it in SoCal!!)
2005 Colomé Malbec $25: Colomé certainly was the most enchanting bodega and we never came close to it. I refer you to the videos posted earlier. Grapes grown at 7,000 feet and wine made at their Salta area winery owned by Hess. Blend of Malbec, Tannat and Merlot. Works beautifully. Solid middle weight as so many of these wines are. Rich red purple deep blood red robe. Easy nose with aromas of spice, Maipu-like citrus quality. Well balanced. Had it with classic asado fare (grilled meats and chimichurri). Perfect fit. Get it at Hi Time Wine Cellar in Coast Mesa.

Number 4 (Henry Wine Group has it and is allegedly distributing)
2006 Andeluna Malbec $10: Buttered popcorn on the nose. Pepper, younger wine. Lean and middleweight. Excellent. Rich flavors. Unbelievable value. Hope we can find it. We should be able to. My god...what if we can't??? 14.2%. San Francisco Wine Exchange brings it in. Good luck getting information from them.

Number 5 (trophy hunters alert!! Very very rare...)
2007 Achaval Ferrer Finca Bella Vista Malbec ~$150: This is the big ticket wine from Mendoza. Has the pedigree. Most sought after wine from the most prestigious house. Small single vineyard at 3,000 plus elevation. Not blended with lesser vineyards. Refined nose. Candy flavors. Elegant. Powdery vanilla (soft tannins). The real story is the 2005 and 2006 vintages were lost to hail. So the market is thirsty for this wine. TGIC Importers brings it in. Bound to sell out. Great wine if yagottahavit!!!

Number 6 (here in Costa Mesa!!)
2007 Colomé Torrontes $15: They have it at Hi Time Wine Cellar in Costa Mesa. Blow your mind. Yellow gold color. Maximim Grunhauser meets Chateau Grillet. This bottle needs time. Buy it now and wait six months. I cannot believe I am ranking it this low. I must be biased against white wines. This wine is burning a hole in my brain. 13%

Number 7 (it is here...somewhere)
2005 Luigi Bosca Syrah $11: One of the nation's biggest producers [ed. only 1.2 million cases] proves size does not matter. Not the Syrah I might expect. Lighter and more viscous than a Chateauneuf de Papes. More like a Tablas Creek red but without that Paso ripeness. Lighter than Paso. Makes me want to taste other Argentina Syrah wines. Spicy, pepper on the nose and first taste. Well balanced. Soft. Subtle. A lovely drink. The fact it tastes so nice suggests something special about the grape in the Maipu region where the vineyard is located. Of three wines tasted at this meal (Tomo 1) this was my favorite. 14.9% Golden State Wine distributes in California. No web site.

Number 8 (see Henry Wine Group note above)
2005 Andeluna Cellars Reserve Chardonnay: As Jack Paar used to say, "I kid you not". [ed. Who was Jack Paar you old fart? Here he is interviewing Jonathan Winters. I know who was...] Outstanding wine. The first chardonnay I have tasted in a LONG time that is memorable. Some sulfur on the nose, minerals, green olives. Not your Napa banana boat. No oak flavors. Meringue. Grown at 4,000 feet. 12 months in French oak. Michel Rolland consulting here. Henry rep says try Whole Foods. That would be convenient. I called my local. Never heard of it. 13.1%.

Number 9 (M.I.A.)
2004 Arnaldo B Etchart Gran Reserva Malbec: Another premium bottle from another monster producer Etchart. A Cafayate valley (Salta region) blend of Malbec (50%), Cabernet Sauv (30%), Merlot and Tannat. These are high altitude wines (5,000 feet). Rich, ripe but without the tobacco and leather nuances tasted in other "older" Reserve wines. Very rich and just ripe enough. Not darkly brooding like a Cabernet Franc or the weighty domination of a Cabernet Sauvignon. Oak and tannins present but muted. Even and balanced. Very good wine. Even the cab grows better in Salta. 14.5%

Bonus video:
While searching for the distributor or Arnaldo B Etchart I came across this video in which Arnaldo Etchart is interviewed at his Cafayate estate. It is in Spanish and I cannot see how to shrink the image. No matter. The video is worth viewing just to get a sense of what this northernmost region in Argentina looks like. The rustic environment reminds me of Guadalupe Valley in Baja California.

Click To Play

It is the plain trooth. A golfer recently told me "Costco has the best wine selection in the country". All things considered - golfers know putters, not wine - it is hard to challenge this observation.

Take Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen. In a recent Vanity Fair article Bob Dylan says "many folks think Seger is the poor man's Springsteen. I say Springsteen is the rich man's Seger". [ed. Sounds more authentic if you hold your nose while speaking.] Costco is no Hi Time but then Springsteen sold many more albums than Detroit's favorite son (along with the Ig as in Iggy Pop and Alice Cooper). Dylan settles things by admitting "I love them both".

The point is that you can't go wrong with Springsteen and that is how folks today think of Costco's wine selection. But if you want to "take a little trip" with wine then you have to find the Hi Time in your neighborhood. Or listen closely over and over to Hollywood Nights and Night Moves if you want to catch the rarified discriminating vibe.

"Workin' on mysteries without any clues". This is the point isn't it? You can always find a Springsteen CD in a SecondSpin bin but finding vintage Seger is a bit tougher.

What does that have to with wine? Dotoré has earned the respect of his family and friends as a wine snob such that he is tasked with finding the right wines (this always means U20s) for a Kansas City wedding. A quick run through the KC Internet directory of fine wine stores pulled up some home pages more suited to the wine department at Ross Dress for Less. The go-to store in KC is a liquor store that you can be sure is the name that falls off the tip of everyone's tongue when asked who has the best wine store in town. Like Brooosss the Boss. Not an inspiring selection but hard to argue against given the widespread belief.

In fact the local KC liquor emporium did not list any French wines. Or Italians or Spanish. Argentina? Let me be Frank. Shirley you're kidding. We did find a party planner with a palate who probably has a tiny local following of wannabe but tooscaredtabe polygamists. At least she had a decent wine list that didn't look like a BevMo 2-for-1 clearance. Then it hit me. Kirkland. Buy the freaking wine at Costco, Dotoré. I hope people don't have some kind of misplaced attitude about Costco being low class. As Beastie Boys Mike D once said..."let me clear my throat".

Back to the trooth. The new wine buyer at Costco has a more adventurous palate than the former gal. I see all kinds of wines in the Costco bins that look interesting to me. Along with the usual uninteresting retread Napa trophies (BV & Silverado), Aussie Syrahs (oh, I mean shiraz) I saw a Kiwi white (but no pinot...of course we aren't really sure there are any worth buying), some interesting Rhones from the 2005 vintage, a Spanish Grenache Rosé ($24, however, is not competitive in this sector), and two Argentina Malbecs from the right regions...and at the right prices. There are even more online.

2005 Fabre Montmayou Malbec Gran Reserva $18: A bargain steal go-get-some Gold Medal winner in a nationwide Malbec competition. This is a great example of how Costco is moving to the head of the U20 class. Elegant and high-toned. What does that mean? It means the wine holds together well. The flavors are not too extreme, the tannins actually contribute to the flavor profile without overwhelming, the weight is just right neither heavy and overbearing or porous like tissue. Here is somebody else's review (why not?).

A magnificent Malbec! It picked up a trophy at the inaugural Wines of Argentina Awards held in Mendoza in 2007, having wowed the international panel of judges - included among them wine expert Jancis Robinson, who gave it an impressive 17 out of 20.

Ripe blackberry and bramble aromas merge seamlessly with spicy oak and vanilla flavours. Full bodied, yet seriously smooth and warming. This 89 Parker point wine is sure to survive for many years to come. Definitely a wine to enjoy with fine food ... try it with rare roast beef or a juicy steak.

2006 Preludio Malbec $12: This is one Tempus Alba wine we did not taste when we visited this past March [ed. tBoW coverage here]. Of course, as the self-described big boutique (350,000 cases) there is enough of this to be handled by the Kirkland Nation. Aromatic nose. Syrupy. A bit thick. Very Rollandian even though I do not think he consults here. Doesn't that say it all? Fruity, forward, some tannins. Looking to go over the top like Reggie Bush on the goal line. Maipu fruit which is a good thing. Check out the embossed label. All Tempus Alba labels seem expensively embossed like this. 13.9%

2001 Mouliniere Les Sigillaires St. Chinian $9: Picked from the wall of bargains at Woodland Hills Wine Company. At 7 years this wine has to be peaking if not even entering a long snooze. St. Chinian is one of the longer lived appelations in Languedoc. Most likely a Syrah and Grenache blend. Very nice if soft out of the bottle. Tannins have slipped out the back door. This wine is ready as Norma Desmond for her next blockbuster. Unlike the femme fatale of another era this St. Chinian is simply happy to have one last shot at applause. It gets mine.

Veramar Vineyards Rooster Red $17: Jim Bogaty of Veramar VIneyards in Virgina's beautiful Shenandoah Valley tips his hat to good old fashioned Dago Red [ed. PC apologies to those offended by tBoW's use of a crude name for fine old world style wine.]. If only those old style wines were this good. Rooster Red is one of those unusual and pleasant Proustian experiences.

As I drink this little gem I vaguely recall every Italian table red I ever tasted...except this one is much better than any of the others ever were. Sweeti-ish, balanced, Chianti-style. Excellent job!

Here is possibly the rocking-est song every recorded - smoke, trip lights, long hair, leather everywhere. After this photo of tBoW with Allison and Maya of the rocking-est girl band to ever bash a guitar and drums (respectively), the Donnas. [ed. This post really slid into a musical maelstrom. It can happen. What next? Betty Page?]

Tension builds as we await hot summer nights in Los Angeles that go so well with BBQs, lounging outside, dinner with friends and all kinds of wines. You can tell folks are getting restless when Memorial Day arrives with a full dinner party calendar. We attended two and, what a surprise, wine was the theme. One was a little more structured featuring Argentina wines and wine glasses with the tBoW URL!!!and our host's names in larger script - go figure. The second was more informal meandering through a cellar that needs purging. tBoW was careful to take notes for your information.

2007 Bartenura Moscato d'Asti $9: Summertime is for drinking Moscato d'Asti, the slightly sprtizy Itlaian wine that tastes like peaches and feels like 7-Up! This was bought at Costco. Another testament to the wine buyer there. I can only recall dreaming of the day any Moscato d'Asti might be in a Costco bin. Pinch me. It was so worth the $9 tag. Prices for these wines have crawled higher in recent years so this is quite the bargain. Forget the tasting terms dictionary and the wine wheel. This is purr-fekt for that hot evening outdoors. Brilliant blue bottle. Oy! It's kosher too. In case you did not already know..the alcohol on these wines are traditionally "lower"...like 5.5%!! We are not missing the "1".

2007 Montes Cherub Rosé of Syrah $12: Chilean "double gold winner" at San Francisco wine competition. One of those wines people buy because they like the label with the plump cherub. Imagine posting a bacchinalian chubby image as your symbol. Lovely ruby red. Syrahs tend to produce darker tones in pinkies. I prefer Syrah rosé and this is good enough but not my favorite. A bit grassy on the nose. Strawberry flavors. Would like more acid and more fruit. Applaud the screw top! 13.6%

2006 Les Aphillanthes Cotes du Rhone $10: Lacking in fruit, good acid, short finish. This wine tasted better with the cheese plate. I preferred it to the Montes. Nice enough but I am confident we can do better. Purchased at Hi Time. 13%

2004 Carinae Malbec Reserva $14: Purchased at The Wine Country. Briny, meaty nose. Not like many of the fruity and forward Malbec wines. Vanilla, baking soda, pumpkin bread. More mature in style. Maipu juice.

2004 Altocedro La Consulta Reserva $13: Costco purchase. From Valle de Uco, La Consula vineyard at 5,000 feet. High toned, creamy, tannic. Mocha powder (it's the tannins). Muted nose. Dark berry fruit. Taste the alcohol. Opened up nicely over an hour. Impressed the missus. Cannot beat the value. Will keep a couple years. Testimony to the palate of the new Costco wine buyer. 14.6%

1996 Condado de Haza Alenza $60 online: In the cellar since release close to a decade. Premium picked Tempranillo from Alejandro Fernandez's best Ribera del Duero estate. 2,000 cases aged 30 months in new American oak. We exoected it to be the best wine this evening. Shoe polish nose signals bretanomyces. Red brick color. Clear. Deep, mature, very nice. Balanced, gentle. Red berry fruit. Excellent. Somewhat surprising that 30 minutes later the fruit is gone. Drink up and be quick about it. 13%

1996 Justin Cabernet Franc $150 from the winery: When have you seen this wine? Fuggidaboudid. If you see it you have to open it...with some trepidation. The owner said he received it recently in a library release through Justin's wine club. Lively nose. Fresh fruit although somewhat muted. Flavors are very good. Blueberries. Soft and balanced. Tannin-free. The wine shows its age but it is holding up nicely. 30 minutes it remains drinkable. Justin makes the best cab in Paso which is a bit like Sid Vicious singing Sinatra. Or building the best boats in Death Valley. Mangled metaphors aside, this wine was pretty nice...and damned surprising. 14.1%

Hey!! Here's Sid now!!!

The Perseid meteor shower in mid August seemed like a great excuse to return to the Villa del Valle in Guadalupe Valley, rest a bunch, watch the llueve de estrellas and shop in Ensenada and Rosarito. The Missus conspired to visit wineries we had missed the first time...and tBoW was impressed! This is harvest time so the vines are heavy with fruit.

We stayed once again at the Villa del Valle. Fast becoming our #1 getaway. Host (Phil) and hostess (Eileen) could not be more gracious and charming. Phil bottles his own very nice wines under the VenaCava label. He has a new distributor and will be shipping most of his 800 cases to Mexico City. Look for his production to increase creating even more pressure for high end fruit in the Valley. Eileen runs the VdV kitchen under the direction of Chef Omar. Top notch service all round. Omar has the right flavors in mind and ably delivers them to the satisfied diners.

2007 Vena Cava Chenin Blanc $25 on the VdV list: Cloudy in the glass as it is unfiltered. Fruity, pears, yeast flavors. Creamy with good acid. Bright, middle weight. This grape seems to do well in the valley. All wines are 11% to 12%

2007 Vena Cava Sauvignon Blanc: Banana nose and flavors. Unusual with good acid. Once banana blows off resembles more of a white wine from Languedoc, like a ripe Grenache Blanc. A good contrast to the Chenin Blanc. tBoW favors the Chenin.

2006 Vena Cava Chardonnay: Clear light yellow in the glass. First shows glutin and wood flavors, but it has no oak! Mrs. tBoW says the valley is not the right spot for Chardonnay. Strongest showing of saltiness in the soil typical of the region.

2005 VenaCava Tempranillo: Nice plum flavors. Has the salt water taffy flavors that come with the better made wines in the Valley.

2005 Vena Cava Petite Syrah: A crowd favorite for its heavyweight feel. Has sweet strength. Almost dessert style. The sweetness does bring out the salt.

The goal with Guadalupe wines is to neutralize the salty soil. Not such a simple task since the grapes also harvest very ripe. The most recognizable food that resembles this combo of salt and sweet is saltwater taffy. The flavor is not offensive. It is unique. You have to live on a the East or West coast to now what fresh saltwater taffy tastes like.

2002 Paul Lato Duende Gold Coast Pinot Noir: tBoW brought this wine. And even though we have reviewed this before we will do so once again. The wine is stunning. Nose shows beets (as before) and some funk right away that is not unpleasant. This blows off. The flavors are married very nicely. Cherry, cocoa, cola, mocha. Delicious. Gets better with the meal over an hour. This wine has emerged in the past 8 months. In a word? EXOTIC. 14.3%

These folks at the Villa del Valle are having too much fun! Phil has planted blue agave to make...you guessed it...his own tequila. More later on tequila. Join them and have your own fun.

Adobe Guadalupe is the only other place to stay in the valley. Styled as a Spanish Adobe it is grand and majestic while managing to remain tasteful. Wine production is about 6,000 cases. The best winemaker in the valley, Hugo D'Acosta, makes their wines. He also make wines for Casa Piedra and his own establishment Paralelo. tBoW did not taste Casa Piedra but did taste at Paralelo. We bought Adobe Guadalupe. The D'Acosta wines at ADobe G were excellent. He has managed the trick...subduing the salty soil allowing the fruit to come forward.

2007 Adobe Guadalupe Uriel Rosé $16: Tempranillo, Barbera, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Muscat in the blend in order of proportion. Is this Rosé or Chianti?!? form mt:asset-id="512" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;">It is fruity, floral, rich and masculine as rose's go. One of the most appealing pinkies tasted this summer. 200 cases. 11.1%

2005 Adobe Guadalupe Gabriel $32: 55% Merlot, 28% Malbec, 11% Cab Sauv and 7% Cab Franc. Where did he get the Malbec? That is a grape that should grow well here. This is the Bordeaux blend from which tBoW expected little at best. WRONG. Fruity and friendly. All Bordeaux should taste this balanced and show this much happiness. 13.4%

2005 Adobe Guadalupe Miguel $32: 80% Tempranillo, 15% Grenache, 5% Cab Sauv. The new style blend and closest we came to Rhone. There are two other blends, one of which is the Rhone style. Sold out of 1,200 cases. This works very nicely. The Tempranillo, which can be quirky, works very nicely here with the Grenache providing the bass to the Tempranillo tenor. 13.4%

Lucifer Tequila Blanco $22/750 ml: Fiery, smoke, strong, herbal character. Made from green agave in South Jalisco. 40 proof. This is not easy to find. As far as I can tell it is only available at the winery. It is made at one of the most reputable distilleries in Mexico. My tequila consultant (see below) tells me it is the same as a rare and exceptional tequila made at the same distillery.

The tequila hunt was stimulated by a conversation with the owner at Cantina Mayahuel in San Diego's North Park. The restaurant prepares authentic Mexican cuisine with the most fresh ingredients including fresh squeezed atun for your purple and absolutely delicious margarita. [ed. atun is Spanish for tuna which is the name of the egg-shaped fruit of the prickly pear cactus the size of an ostrich egg that must be handled with great care] The place really is a shrine to tequila and mezcal with more than 100 tequilas on hand, pretty evenly represented across Blanco, Reposado and Añejo. Larry cleared up a bunch of Margarita and tequila confusion such as using reposado and not blanco in the margarita. Then he gave me a couple suggestions for tequilas I might hunt down. Very friendly. Cantina Mayahuel earns tBoW's highest recommendation.

To summarize...the wines from Adobe Guadalupe are the most consistently fine wines we have tasted to date in Guadalupe Valley.

Baron Balché is up the road from Adobe Guadalupe. We are on the northern side of the Valley, a new area for us. The Baron is Mexican owned and operated. The winery - 10,000 cases - sells a premium line of six or seven wines that are triple digits. We did not taste any of these. We did taste the first line which was ordinary and offered nothing to write home about.

The third winery we visited was Paralelo. The property is owned and operated by Hugo D'Acosta. His brother Victor, an architect, has designed a supremely utilitarian building that is made of adobe & cement, and is striking to look at. Get up close and you will see the tire prints in the adobe walls. The tire prints are more than whimsical as you can see from the image at top of this post that tires are ubiquitous in the Valley and a part of many vineyards [ed. think Huraches?].

We tasted with the Assistant Winemaker, Alberto. He was refreshingly candid about wine making in the Valley. He believes the future of winemaking in Guadalupe Valley is with Rhone style grapes (Mrs. tBoW could not stop patting herself on the back having drawn the same conclusion during her first visit 18 months ago!!). However, one cannot simply pull up all the 30 and 50 year old Cab, Merlot and Zin vines and start fresh. Little by little. The region is simply too hot and not well suited for Bordeaux vinifera like Cab Sauv, Merlot, etc. tBoW suggested Rousanne, Marsanne and some Grenache Blanc.

There are microclimates in the Valley and D'Acosta is experimenting with these (as we tasted). The oak program is first class blending French and American. Alberto has his won recently acquired property and will be planting Rhone grapes like Mourvedre and Grenache. He thinks the climate is not well suited for Syrah. tBoW looks forward to tasting his first bottling!

Like at Adobe Guadalupe, Paralelo fruit is all estate grown.

2007 Paralelo Emblema: In bottle. Sauvignon Blanc that tastes like new world Sauvignon Blanc, as in grassy with grapefruit. But also old world as in not yet ripe lemon with enough acid to bring to mind a recent steely and super crisp Basque white wine. 11.8%

2007 Paralelo Estacion Porvenir: In bottle very recently. 40% Petite Syrah, 20% Cab Sauv, 20% Zinfandel and 20% Barbera. 8 months in barrel. Yes, there is quite a bit of Zinfandel grown in the Valley. This is the Linne Calodo blend. Works well. Porvenir is the name of a local village. [ed. but you would never buy a wine that blends cab and zin!]

Then we tasted 2007s from the barrel. Here works the mad doctor.
2007 ensemble Arenal: Valley floor fruit. 50% Merlot, 30% Cab Sauv and the rest Petite Syrah and Barbera. The Bordeaux blend. Fruity, earthy. Tannins mid sized.

2007 ensemble Colina: Hillside fruit. Same Cab and Merlot weights, finished off with Petite Syrah and Zinfandel. More tannic, sticks and stones, fruit buried behind oak.

2007 Valley Merlot: Earthy, veggies, fruit is there in front but set off by herbaceousness.

2007 Hillside Merlot: Good fruit, brawny, no veggie qualities.

2007 Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Earthy, salty, more veggie qualities. Fruit is strong.

Conclusion? It appears Valley floor fruit has the strongest saltiness and is more herbaceous while Hillside fruit has more tannins, less herbaceousness, and stronger fruit quality.

The hillside vines we saw are not at such a high elevation that the effect is more than simply stronger drainage. Maybe the soils are different? Shoulda asked. Looks like another trip is required.

As for the meteor showers...the sky was clear but the moon was half full and did not set until 0230. Pretending we were Valley vinifera we caught a handful of streaking meteors until the cool ocean fog rolled over us, then turned in like good little Rhone grapes that will one day replace all the Cabernet!

Movies are not at all like wine even though analogies are easy enough. Movies are widely accessible inspiring a wide range of opinions by many; unlike wine which is often intimidating to the general public with opinions widely offered by a few experts. Films are transitory. Very few have staying power. While one seldom returns for the same exact bottle of wine a seasoned wine consumer learns to look for wines by the same producer or importer. Following films made by a particular director who gets the benefit of the doubt is the same as wine selected by importer Robert Chadderdon just because they are Chadderdon selections.

Actors are rarely as important to the lover of film craft as is the director or writer or even the camera operator. So it is with the label of a particular house or chateau; it guarantees little more than a bloated advertising budget. The region or vineyard is far more important. There are exceptions. Wine houses like Sterling consistently produce a pleasing bottle or three decade over decade, much like Al Pacino consistently fugures in movies of interest if only because he is in them. Nevertheless, one would not run to catch the opening of Pacino's newest romp through the sets the same as one would not hurry to find the newest vintage of Sterling Chardonnay. Yet, it is usually worth a taste if somebody pours some Sterling in your glass or if the next channel is playing Scarface or Serpico or even Dick Tracy. And certain brands like Pacino and Sterling or Duckhorn become iconic transcending the wine or film itself. Say hello to my little wine.

What if wines were critiqued like movies? You could not reveal the ending and you would have to make diversionary chat about the efforts of the stars, writers and director in order not to reveal too much about the story. Is two thumbs up any different or less informative than a Spectator rating of 90 points?

tBoW had a chance to see four of the "buzz" films in the running for an Oscar or three this year. Here is how we break them down; endings and all. Of course, we match to recently tasted wines hoping to illustrate some of the shared qualities.

Slumdog Millionaire: The goofy dancing at the end put me off and I was already bored. The contrived story is compounded by the obligatory shots of Taj Mahal as if to remind the viewer this is India. I kept thinking of El Norte; each chapter a predictable heart breaker. The Abu Graib torture scenes and the kids living on trash dunes should pull plenty of Oscar voters. The message is that India has many young educated people who just want to line dance. tBoW does feel a bit hypocritical having posted videos from Bring it On and Madonna voguing. Sit on your Thumbs and stay home.

2005 Perrin & Fils Chateauneuf du Pape Les Sinards $18: Cannot go wrong with this wine found in the Kirkland Nation bin. Usually young vines, sometimes it can be declassified Beaucastel. Obviously made for the US market which is to say Parkerized. Like the Slumdog movie this wine has everything that feels good with just enough hints of suspense and danger. Good burnt tones and plenty of fruit. Rich and ripe Rhone Grenache and Syrah. Like Slumdog, it is charmingly vapid. A great summer BBQ wine. 14%

Milk: Movie of the year is what we thought as the credits rolled. "Courageous" performances from straight guys Penn and Franco. Well made cinema. Excellent story well-paced. Sean Penn at his best. Effective and clever use of videos from the era (1970s) blended with new vids made to look like the originals. The most interesting appear at the beginning; actual film form "queer busts" from the 1960s before there was even a dream of a gay revolution. Great performances all round. A MUST SEE. Two thumbs up where the sun don't shine.

2005 Colomé Malbec Estate Vino Tinto Gran Altura $25: Argentine wines are getting more press as high end retailers turn to South American wines for value and quality. tBoW is surprised this wine receives little exposure. Colomé has the Hess pedigree, a great story (highest vineyards in the world), the right price point and a great wine. Just like Milk has Sean Penn, guy on guy kissy face, and a modern day political martyr. This wine (covered in an April tBoW post) is rich without being over-ripe, balanced and lush. A winner. 14.9%

Benjamin Button: tBoW would never see a film like this until it showed up on cable. Big studio, glossy label, big stars, big story. Titanic meets Dorian Gray. Like seeking out and buying a 100 point wine the result can only be disappointing. Was I wrong. In this kind of film the story (F. Scott Fitzgerald) and the script (Eric Roth) have to be really strong because an actor like Brad Pitt never carries a film of this wide scope. He works best with a buddy like in Fight Club or Snatch or even Troy; all roels with personality twists. Pitt is very good. Nawlins is his co-star. The story crosses continents, has Nazis, some light sex and a strong set of supporting characters and actors. Titanic meets Forest Gump. Could sneak in as Best Pic on the flag-waving vote aided by the Slumdog backlash and the Obama-Milk votes. Two thumbs in your popcorn bag.

2007 Two Hands Angels Share Shiraz McLaren Vale $30: Big new world wine at the lower end of the "collectible" new world wine price scale. Competes with Dead Arm and such. Wine Speculator gave it 92 and placed it on their top 100 list (#83). At 6300 cases it does not come close to Argentine production volumes. The wine is very ripe, too ripe for tBoW but perfect for the "big studios" (Parker, Wine Spectator). Strawberries galore. See the movie instead. 15/5%

The Wrestler: Mickey Rourke's comeback told through a simple story of triumph in failure using whatever eroding strengths one has left at the end. This film testifies to the range and diversity of interesting movies in 2008; perhaps best film year since 1969 when Ratso Rizzo and Joe Buck lost squared off with Rooster Cogburn and Mattie Ross. Mickey Rourke's performance is riveting. Can't help but see this as his bookend to "Pope of Greenwich Village". Rourke plays compulsive loser as well as anyone. Unlike Button and Milk this is not big studio. Instead we get a hand-held camera panorama of New Jersey suburbia and turnpike strip club interiors. More like Blair Witch meets Boogie Nights. Could Tarantino have made this? Doesn't he wish he had? Rourke plays Randy Ram, a pro wrestler on the last thread at the tip of the end of the line. Then he gets a heart attack. His "love interest" is a stripper played by Marisa Tomei. I gotcher courageous performance right cheer. At 44 years of age she grinds it out on stage nipple rings flashing. Then she plays her straight scenes without makeup showing facial lines and the honest weariness of a career way down the slippery slope. This is guts. 4 thumbs in both eyes.

2006 Domaine Alfred Goss Creek Central Coast Pinot Noir $14: Buying another bottle of wine full of bad signals(Central Coast Pinot is a bad idea) from a region that is trying to get in alignment with its terroir (Paso should focus on Rhone varietals) and from a vendor that has a W-L record close to the Detroit Lions, is reckless. Like casting Mickey Rourke in a small screen film. The local Wine Cask outlet has an irresistable sales staff who either have bad palates or no say in what they are told to sell. However, this wine is a step in the right direction for this store. The wine is absolutely rough over the falls [ed. the first sip]. tBoW wonders if these vines grow alongside bramble bushes. The acid is too mean to be simply volatile. It is throat constricting, phlegm cutting. The fruit is there and eventually wins out after 40 minutes of air. Like Randy Ram there is a drop of hope even though things keep going wrong. Is this Domaine Alfred Pinot Noir worth the wait? Not really even at this reduced price. But picking this wine to go on sale is a step in the right direction for the store. 14.5%

The power of the subconscious has revealed itself to me. tBoW thought he was writing about three very nice wines and it turns out, in retrospect, he was writing about his three favorite and most reliable wines and wine regions in this current economic collapse. They represent the best in the cellar, the best U20 [ed. criminittly! it's a U10!] of what can be found with a bit of labor, and the best wine-for-wine region year in and year out. To summarize...value, perfection and the steal of 2009...so far.

2005 Trenel Saint Amour $20: What a wonderful wine house is Trenel. tBoW has only gotten familiar with Trenel since 2007. We have tasted vintages form 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Each vintage has proven more than worthy for anyone who enjoys quality wine at value prices. We have tasted other producers which are also exceptional. Trenel remains a steady bet when hunting down quality Beaujolais village wines. This has lavendar and chocolate in the nose. Light to middle weight. Sour bright cherry flavors. Very sound wine. Tasty and balanced. Some sweet beet flavors. 2005 and 2006 terrific vintages for Beaujolais village wines. Chadderdon import. Loving this. 13%

2006 Sedna Malbec $8: You cannot beat this wine for value. From the Lujan de Cuyo, one of three premium regions outside Mendoza. A working man's red in every possible sense. How do they keep the price so low? Machine harvesting means no manual labor in the vineyards. And steel tank fermentation means no costly oak barrels. The result is a very tasty wine that if you were one of those people who just wants an everyday wine you can count on at a very fair price, and could give a hoot about the label or name factor then THIS IS YOUR WINE. Tasty Malbec form Argentina's workhorse region. Wines like this one, in fact Malbec in general, is superior to California Cabernets form the bottom to the top of the scale. If there is one area in which the California product competes it is on the premium end but ONLY in terms of quality. Toss in price and it is no contest. The costliest Argentine Malbec is $100 and, unlike Napa, it is lonely at the top. How is this wine? Solid, middle weight. Full and rich flavors. Malbec from Mendoza can be sweet-ish however this one offers a bit of pepper as well. 14.9%

1996 Paruso Bussia Vigna Munie Barolo ~$100: Another Marc de Grazia Selection. tBoW tasted this in 1998 in the cellar of Domenic Clerico who at the time was the local bottler for his rebel alliance of new wave Barolistos (the guys who did not put the juice in Spruce Goose sized Slovenian oak barrels). The 1996 vintage is considered classic Barolo whereas the 1997, which got a ton of press, is more comparable to the 1982 vintage in Bordeaux; very ripe and new world-like. The Bussia vineyard is in Monforte d'Alba, one of the numerous picturesque hilltop villages in the Piedmont [ed. photo at top is the view from Da Felicin]. So, let me tell you...we have been waiting for this wine. And fortunately tBoW has a few more bottles. This is the essence of Piemonte Nebbiolo wine. There is some mint up front with plenty of fruit. Tannins show themselves then soften like a coy femme fatale. It opens steadily for 40 minutes; each pause bringing something new to the experience. We have tasted some "over the hill" Baroli but this ain't one of them. This wine follows a trail that has led from disappointment to better to the best. It is exquisite libation. 14%

Lets' get something straight. The idea that the quality of a wine increases in lock step with its price is specious. It should be obvious to readers of this blog that there are plenty of good to very good to downright ridiculously good wines that cost less than $20. We cover a few (of course) on this post. However, the suggestion that the cost of a bottle of wine is a necessary and sufficient condition denoting quality is.....what is the word.....S-T-O-O-P-I-D.

Better criteria include region, i.e., where the grapes are grown; grower, who is the farmer and what are his preferences in wine growing practices; winemaker, what is his portfolio; and finally price, are we being asked to pay for advertising, vanity and a private jet. And if you can't dig the detail then you can take the shortcut and simply buy the importer.

[ed moment: Slate magazine's wine editor Michael Steinberger posted a recent article on this very same idea of "wine shopping shorthand" first proposed in tBoW in Oct 07 and Jan 08.]

Robert Mondavi was the greatest wine salesman ever. He created the "wine lifestyle" market which prompted a steady rise in prices without regard to quality or the other criteria listed above. Enter the new frugality. And new criteria for gearing down without losing quality and pleasure, courtesy of tBoW.

2006 Vinsobres Domaine Jaume "Altitude 420" $13: Purchased at K&L wines in Hollywood. Classic Rhone blend that tBoW loves; 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah, 30 year old vines. Gunflint nose (some would say pencil lead), blueberry flavors. Lots of spine (or grip if you are manual). The point is it has backbone, strength, goes past front palate. Typical pepper. Terrific wine. Outstanding value. 13.5%

2007 Doña Paula Estate Malbec $18: tBoW took the wine guy's word at the local Whole Foods and bought this bottle. The kid was on a roll after touting tBoW on the successful Nanni family of wines. Of course, those U10 wines make this look like high end juice. If I was buying wedding wine I would go with the Nanni Tannat for the red and the Nanni Torrontes for the white. But, if I was going to a summer BBQ (plenty of those coming up) with folks I did not know I would bring the Doña Paula. If it was in arm's reach. Here is what you get. Caramelo (not quite Carmelo Anthony), cherry flavors, classic Mendoza Malbec. A winner among the lumpen proletariat. 14%

2002 J Wilkes Pinot Noir Block Q Santa Barbara County $34 (we got a holiday deal): The expanded tBoW tasting team visited Santa Rita Hills in 2004 over Turkey Day. Jeff Wilkes offered to meet us at a Los Olivos tasting room where he poured and chatted for an hour. He told us his story how he went from marketer (18 years!!) for the 800 acre Bien Nacido vineyard to becoming a winemaker. It happens. Makes you wonder if he figured this ain't so tough and I know where are the best plots in the vineyard anyway so why not just buy the juice and put out my own label. We tasted his Pinot Gris and several of his Pinot Noir "block" wines. Intensity on the nose with citric scents. Not quite Pinot. Flavors are equally intense. Focused. Brambleberry and blackberry up front and parsley on the finish. The wine is exotic, delightful, intriguing and delicious. After 7 years it is showing beautifully. Bag it we are taking it home. Nice job J. Wilkes. Note the production was tiny at 215 cases. Worth searching out. Pricier now. 14%

1998 Bert Simon Weingut Herrenberg Serrig Würtzberg Riesling Kabinett $18: Picked this up at Palate after sommelier Steve Goldun poured it with our crab salad. Impressive. How many wines can work with any salad? tBoW has a weakness for the Mosel region. Even though this particular wine is from the Saar tributary, it is still a Mosel. German Rieslings from the Mosel are arguably the greatest wines in the world. The statement seems more than a bissel silly since how can anything be the best in the world? I realize the argument is fun to have...the best car, the best beach, the best Cabernet wine. If you said Mosel produces the best Rieslings in the world tBoW would enthusiastically explore the point. This wine is a perfect reason why. A ten year old Kabinett from a lower profile producer (pronounced See-moan as in Nina) that shows spectacularly. While German Rieslings are recognized as wines that can age beautifully - improving with every decade especially in the case of Auslese from the best vintages - Kabinett wines are for earliest consumption. They go 5 not 10 years. But this one has and it is special. The nose is dried flowers. There is a ferric quality that recalls rust. The color is somewhat rusty and perhaps the flavors are so suggestive they conjure unexpected memories. The slight petrol nose one associates with Saar wines (see Zilliken) is there although muted. The wine is perfectly balanced. At its peak right now. Somewhere between Washington and carb apples. Outstanding. 8.25%

Here are a couple of sites to brush on German Riesling wines. This quick and dirty overview is on the Wine Doctor's blog. Rudi Weist, the importer of this bottle, has many features on his website including this recondite slideshow. And finally, a blog that discusses Bert Simon and this wine (among others). If you read one make it this one.

WEEKEND UPDATE ON UPCOMING TOPANGA CANYON ART STUDIOS TOUR: tBoW travels through Topanga Canyon often. Once a year the Topanga cooperative art gallery hosts a tour of local artists who live in the canyon. This is hands-down the best one day summer activity for people who want to know more about the venerable, charming and mysterious canyon. If you want to see how and where Topanga artists live then you must buy a ticket at the gallery and spend Saturday and/or Sunday June 13 & 14 driving around Topanga. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

With Spring and Summer comes wine festival season. With so many many to choose from tBoW presents two festivals worth your consideration. How is a wine festival like a golf tournament? If you like golf you must go to a tour event at least once, see the pros hit the ball, make tricky putts, eat a hot dog. If you like wine then you should probably attend an event where the wineries are pouring their best stuff, you can attend an exclusive dinner in a winery, and talk to the winemaker over sips. [ed. photos show the Pipestone corner of paradise, the 10 acre vineyard and the wonderful owners/winemakers/farmers Jeff and Flo]

#1: Portland Indie Wine Festival takes place in Portland May 1-2. tBoW will report on his first visit. This festival hits the excitement button on a couple counts. First, there are a limited number of wineries (40) that are "craftsman" size (must produce less than 2500 cases). I guess the idea is that if you are making less than 2500 cases of wine you gotta really love doing it because you can't make a lot of dough at this size. Maybe enough to feed the family of four and a couple hounds. Second, Portland is adjacent to premium Pinot Noir country. tBoW has previewed the wineries online and is certain we will find a handful worth filling up on at fair prices.

#2: Paso Robles Wine Festival is two weeks later May 15-17. tBoW has covered Paso wines and the region. Dotoré declared he was finished with the region following an underwhelming visit. Do not let this dissuade you. There are more and more exciting wines coming from the region, e.g., Clautiere, Pipestone, Saxum, Linne Calodo, Barrel 27. Many Paso wines are priced competitively, are not so thrilling to tBoW, and have loyal followings. Then there is Tablas Creek which is one of the finest wineries in the state and the finest in Paso all things considered. The point is you get to try them all at this well-attended event. You might make it a 3 day weekend and do some touring as well. They usually feature a bunch of winemaker dinners worth considering. We recall a great evening in Adelaida Cellars where the owner host broke out a 1989 sparkling wine in magnum that was exceptional and completely unexpected. Here is the link. This one sells out quickly so get on it ASAP.

Within the Paso Wine Fest is an exhibit sponsored by the Paso Robles Art Association. Art and wine...it's a lifestyle thing. They are featuring twenty-seven professional artists and 6 commissioned one-liter wine bottles called "Magnum Masterpieces" (alas sin vin). Proceeds help build the new Paso Robles Art Association art gallery in downtown Paso. Preview the "Masterpieces" here.

Finally, Tablas Creek is hosting a bunch of events throughout the summer. So if you miss the Paso wine Fest you can always visit TC. Check them out their events calendar here. They put on a fine show and do not scrimp when it comes to breaking out the good stuff.

One North Berkeley Wine selection and one Kermit Lynch wine showed very nicely recently. tBoW has to hunt these down for more. Fortunately, NBW is featuring a Spring blowout sale.

2006 Jean Paul Thévenet Morgon "Vieilles Vignes" $24: This is Beaujolais at its best. Lush, lightweight, delicate. Dancing a minuet in your mouth. Ruby red color. Perfumed nose of cherries and strawberries. Very slight pepper on the mid palate. Finishes with Kirsch flavors and power. Had it with the Easter lamb dinner. It was THAT good. Sign of the times...tBoW called Kermit Lynch and got the last 5 bottles. Amazing this was still in stock one year later. 13%

2006 Frédéric Magnien Chablis Foréts $24: Another WOW. Tart, fruity, quince jelly. Is it apples? Pear? Then the key lime shows up. Mrs. tBoW says she can tell it is not new world because there is no oak. The crisp flavors go deep and the wine is extremely satisfying. A winner. NBW is out of the 2006s but has the Magnien 2007 group. 13%

2005 William Hill Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $20: Showed nicely with rich Napa Cabernet flavors. Bit of leather, soft fruit, not much tannins. I guess a Napa cab hound would be disappointed while a Napa cab fan would consider this a good daily wine. tBoW finds the wine and the varietal fairly ordinary, especially on its own. It just is not that interesting. Jim Moore said it first "Cabernet Sauvignon is a nice blending varietal".

2004 Jo Pithon Savannieres La Croix Picot $22: Purchased at Palate Food + Wine shop. Chenin Blanc youthful and spritely. Like some kind of fairy dust. Peppermint candy cane flavors. Balanced. Delightful. The label pic is borrowed from The Wine Doctor who has an excellent post on the wine here. He likes it alot. And in case you want to learn more about Loire Valley wines you can click on this link.

2003 La Azul $23: This was the wine that got away from the 2008 Argentina wine tour. Took the #1 spot on tBoW's top 9 wines. Impossible to find in the US. When http://www.vinesofmendoza.com/ announced their free shipping in April promo tBoW jumped on half a case. Good idea. Fruit forward with stuffing. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Malbec. Blended perfectly to produce a middle weight dark and rich wine with black cherries and figs. Still #1. 14.2%

2005 Coppola Directors Cut Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel $20: A "re-gifting" bottle that had to be opened otherwise it would have been rude. Turned out to be quite lovely, soft, and delicate especially for such a young wine. Dry Creek produces the best quality and most interesting Zinfandels; a grape usually of little interest to tBoW. This is the exception. None of the dried raisin/prune flavors or brambly tannins sometimes found with the varietal especially when harvested over-ripe. Soft in the mouth, easy to sip on. Caramel flavors and soft tannins suggest it is good to go. 14.8%

1995 Bruno Rocca Rabaja Barbaresco $90: It is called a cult wine when truthfully the entire region of Piemonte is a cult. You have to be pretty nuts (or obsessed) to follow Baroli. The wines are not easy to love..util you get a great one. This was typical of what must be endured. Tough out of the bottle which seems common with the hard and lean 1995 vintage. After three hours it opened to a (still) lean drink with focused Nebbiolo fruit flavors. Lots of dried cherry and perfume. Definitely showing its age but still a beautiful wine.

Winemakers are somewhat like doctors. There is a lot of talent in the pool but the great ones are uncommon and especially hard to find because there aren't any bad winemakers. Think about it. Who ever says "I have a horrible doctor" or "she is an awful winemaker". There ain't no sech animal. [ed. here is a doctor right now who knows the difference - and where he belongs - in front of Kenneth-Crawford "winery" in Buellton]

Family docs (like big house winemakers) are never stars. We need them and value them but all we are looking for is reliability over time, no diagnostic mistakes, and the ability to make a good referral when one is needed. The grind-it-out primary care guy keeps the whole thing going but the specialists are the stars. In wine their equivalent is the boutique winemaker. If you ever needed a surgeon or a specialist, then you will recognize how everybody you know wants to send you to their knee guy or shoulder cutter who is always "the best" in his field. How do you really know? How can every specialist - or every boutique winemaker - be the best?

If doctors ran baseball [ed. here he goes] every pitcher would go undefeated and every batter would hit a thousand. Same with winemaking. Every boutique has a star winemaker. And like Helen Turley or Michel Rolland s/he is all over the scene. For the record, consider three under-the-radar winemakers Jim Moore (l'Uvaggio di Giacomo), Bob McKenzie (McKenzie-Mueller) or David Croix (Camille Giroud). Virtually zero hype, comparatively small operations. Consistently fine products at multiple price points.

There is really only one way to find the "best" doctor. Ask his peers. Or try her out. Fortunately, you can try winemakers out at much lower stakes than doctors (see above three examples of low risk and potentially high payout). How would we know when we have found the best winemaking specialist? How do doctors know who is best among their peers? The best ones keep showing up at the most important meetings where they are the speakers. In wine the best winemakers show up on everybody else's label without being named because the other label owners know who is making the best wines. Until they finally start their own.

Kenneth Gummere and Mark Crawford Horvath made wine for other labels in the Santa Rita HIlls for at least a couple seasons [ed. probably still do]. They formed their own wine label Kenneth-Crawford in 2001 when they released their fist few bottlings. Their style is in your face overwhelming without being too bombastic. In a word their wines are seductive. They immediately impress. They are voluptuous. They make you want more. They also tend to be high in alcohol but the fruit is so pure that the 15%+ alcohol levels are seldom an intruding presence. We report on two wines made by the duo; one under another SRH label and one under their own.

2003 Babcock Cargasacchi Pinot Noir $30: This wine was tasted and purchased at the 2004 Wine Cask Futures Tasting, now an event of the past. The 2004 tasting was the first of three the tBoW team attended. This wine was the star, the find, the wine that tBoW and Dotoré had to have. The wine went through a dumb phase lasting almost two years when it was just awful. [ed. AWFUL] Patience has been rewarded. The wine is showing reddish-brown brick coloring. The nose is caramello. The alcohol is detectable but, characteristically for these guys' wines, not weighty enough to make the wine go tilt. The dumb phase is thankfully past! This is brown sugar, sour cherry, spicy and beautifully balanced. This wine is at its peak. The remaining bottles will be gone by Labor Day. 13.8%

2004 Kenneth-Crawford Evans Ranch Syrah Santa Rita Hills $50 (good luck finding it): Bought this one the following year at the same tasting. This was also the last tasting at which we purchased wine. The last year we attended, 2006, the selection was more limited and the winemakers started holding back their best wines. We can say now (although we understood it then) it was the beginning of the end. Another sexy, luscious wine. Full and warm. Floral nose with a capital F. Alcohol present but in check. Like a cool mountain spring in the mouth which for a full bodied red is remarkably refreshing. Wonderfully balanced. Rich flavors, dark fruit, middleweight. The wine reminds us that Syrah is truly the best varietal coming out of Santa Rita HIlls. Just enough acid to keep you sharp. 15.3%

Then there are the family docs of wine. Here is the Nanni group from Argentina's Cafayate Valley. One year ago tBoW was touring Mendoza and loving it. The posts that followed positively gushed with praise and wonder. We did not get to the Cafayate Valley which is near Salta in the northwest corner adjacent to Bolivia. This region looks like a must-visit; high mountain desert (6,000 feet plus), endless arid valleys filled with vineyards, 37 bodegas including Bodega Nanni. Happily, there is plenty of info to be found on the Internet so you are encouraged to go forth and seek. Special thanks to Nikki Knaddison at Denver Spanish House for help learning about Bodega Nanni and all things Latino.

Here are a couple of excellent links: A two year old travel blog that stopped at Bodega Nanni and explored the Cafayate Valley. Nice photos. An excellent cultural site that describes the Bolivian Indian influence is found here. I really like the link at Denver Spanish House. She describes other wineries in the region.

Highlights for Bodega Nanni are organically farmed, 400,000 bottle boutique all local production, family-held for nearly 100 years. tBoW bought the three workhorse wines at the local Whole Foods. Here is what we found.

2007 Bodega Nanni Torrontes $8: You read it right. These wines are absurdly inexpensive and represent the best quality/price ratio since this blog began. Torrontes is a Spanish varietal long disappeared from Spain, decimated by phyloxera. It does exceptionally well in Argentina and especially in this arid high mountain region. This wine is fresh and fruity similar to a Quince wine. A bit tart. Oily texture. Middle weight. 13.3%

2006 Bodega Nanni Malbec $9: Get used to it. This is what these wines cost...over here. Very rich and ripe, almost syrupy. Dark berries abound. Dark chocolate. A chocolate covered cherry in a bottle. Dotore' offers "this year's Malbec is last year's Cabernet Franc." OK with that insight. 14.2%

2006 Bodega Nanni Tannat $8: Another surprise. This is very good Tannat. Must do well in the climate and location because tBoW was not impressed with Tannat tasted in country. This has dark fruit, blackberry. More substantial and better balanced than the Malbec. tBoW remembers the Malbecs from Maipu near Mendoza as particularly charming. This wine is preferred to the Malbec. 14.3%

Who knew Argentina has a Promotion Centre in Los Angeles. Consul Adjunto Jose Cafiero sent out invitations to the right people who showed up on a lovely early fall late afternoon to check. Sr. Cafiero promoted six Mendoza wineries that would love to be represented in Los Angeles. All they need is an importer and/or distributor.

tBoW documented a March 2008 Argentina trip that left a powerful impression of the wonderful and abundant wines, the perfect growing conditions, and the excellent values. We may not have mentioned how gorgeous is the country and the people. Argentina has a preponderance of spectacular scenery and easy-to-look-at citizens. Today's post is peppered with handsome Argentines pouring their wines. Even their feet are attractive.

The tasting was set in the back yard of the Consul residence. Nothing fancy. Six wineries looking for partners. If there is a downside to Argentine wines it is the difficulty finding them. Distribution in the USA is at best sporadic which was the point of this exercise. A tasting like this is a great way to make a match.

Karma Wine Group showed five wines. The "story" is how a Tibetan guardian priest fled with the Dahli Lama and eventually settled in Mendoza where he started making wine. His wines were being poured by Gary Parker, the owner of San Diego's excellent WineSellar and Brasserie, a ground-breaking restaurant and wine store celebrating 21 years in business. Gary's once unique concept is now widely copied. These wines were all under $20 making Karma the best price to quality ratio table at the tasting. There were other wines we preferred but no other table with this consistency at the U20 price level.

2009 Karma Sauvignon Blanc $10: Fruity, slight grassiness. Fruity with a bubble gum aroma and flavor. Slightly tannic. Good wine at a great price. 13%

2009 Karma Chardonnay $12: 100% Steel fermented. No aging in oak. Good fruit. Perfect restaurant $5-pour-by-the-glass-wine.13.2%

2008 Karma Torrontes $13: Bright fruit. Clean flavors. Best in the flight. From Salta region where great Torrontes comes from. 13%

2006 Karma Cabernet Sauvignon Premium Reserve $18: Cherries on the nose. Gets 6 months French oak. Medium weight. Slightly vegetal that gives character. A U20 winner. 14%

2007 Karma Malbec Gran Reserva Old VInes: Did not get the price. Very nice middle weight wine. Good stuffing. Citric flavors characteristic of Maipu vines. Went back for it. 14%

Bodega Viniterra showed the typical lineup of entry, middle and top level reds. But they also showed a couple of unique bottles; 15 bottles in all! Grapes from Mendoza's premium Lujan de Cuyo region located at 3,400 foot elevations. The commitment to premium winemaking is evident.

2008 Viniterra Pinot Grigio $11: Delightful wine with a minty powder puff nose. Sweet but not too much so. Soft body, fragrant nose. U20 value wine. 14%

2008 Viniterra Viognier $15: No foxy flavors we dislike in the varietal. Like Malbec, another example of how the region or country changes the profile of a particular varietal. Nice enough. 14%

2008 Viniterra Chardonnay $15: Pour it by the glass in your restaurant. Cannot go wrong. 13.5%

NV Viniterra Sparkling Extra Brut Champenoise Method $22: 980% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay. Very pale salmon. Yeasty nose. Mucho mousse. doughy flavors, dry. Very nice and low alcohol. 12.5%

2008 Terra Sparkling Malbec: Think of sparkling Buguey or Lambrusco. Only this is much nicer. Red color and a solid spritz. This wine could make it here. Not your fruity summer pink sparkler. A butch sparkling red. Very nice effort. 12.5%

2007 Viniterra Pinot Noir $16: Your basic New World fruity forward, middle weight Pinot Noir. If you like California Pinot then you will be very happy with this wine especially since you are going to pay half to a third of the normal California Pinot Noir price. Forward fruit with lots of cherry flavors. Mrs. tBoW liked it just fine thank you. 14%

2006 Viniterra Select Carmenere $18: tBoW missed the memo on the history of the Carmenere grape...you know - wiped out by phyloxera in Europe mid-19th century memo to be discovered in Chile in the 20th where it is used as the basic blending grape in red wines. That one. Highly perfumed nose. Tastes Italian with plenty acid and lean fruit, especially for Argentina. Violets in a glass. Kind of sweet like a ripe Sangiovese. 14%

2006 Viniterra Select Malbec $18: Fruity with plenty of stuffing. Middle weight and muscular. 12 months in French and American oak. Balanced and rich. Very tasty and excellent U20 value. Can they really sell it at this price? 14%

These are two of the best wineries presenting. Karma with its narrow range and Viniterra with everything under the sun represent the variety and range of wines available in Argentina. We present the other two that impressed in the next post.

Argentina is U20 nirvana!! This post continues our report on the Argentina wineries tasting hosted by the Argentine Promotion Center in Los Angeles. All six wineries that showed were very good. However, four stood out as especially fine.

La Garde Winery presents itself as the old guard of Mendoza wineries...which it is [ed. pictured below]. They claim and aim to represent the long established tradition of fine winemaking in Argentina where terroir comes first. The winery was founded by a Spanish family in 1897 and sold to an Italian family in 1977. One distinguishing characteristic is the comparatively low production which is limited to 60,000 cases annually; small by Argentine standards. Their vineyards feature any old vine plantings located in the premium regions of Lujan de Cuyo and Tupungato Valley. Pride of ownership and old guard values are openly promoted. Worth seeking out.

2008 LaGarde Viognier $14: Rightly proud as the first winery to cultivate this varietal. Like the Viniterra version this is not foxy. Has glue-like nose. With lots of fruit, young and rich. 14.8%

2009 LaGarde Sauvignon Blanc $10: Grassy nose but not overwhelming. Fruit outweighs grass on the palate which is always good.

2008 Altas Cumbres Malbec $10: The entry level Malbec. Dividing the wines into entry level and above is very common. The purpose is to distinguish young vines from older, and reserve wines from premium. See? That is the problem. Grade levels imply less versus more, good versus not as good. But in marketing like children's birthday parties we cannot have lesser or not as good wines like we cannot have one kid getting all the gifts. But we digress. This is fruity stuff with plenty of body and at this price it is a U20 bargain. 14%

2007 LaGarde Cabernet Sauvignon $15: There are many many Cabernets like this one in Napa. Only they cost 400% more. Fruity, rich, heavy weight. 14%

2008 LaGarde Malbec $15: There are NOT ANY Malbecs like this in Napa. Rich, focused, liqeuer flavors. Tons of chocolate and cranberry. Your basic Turkey killer wine. Both wines are in the Reserva line, one step above entry level Altas Cumbres. 14%

2007 LaGarde Malbec DOC $20: In the US the label says Special Selection. This is the Major Drummond single vineyard of 100 year old vines, although the fellow pouring confided they blend it with 50 year old vines. It was exceptional. If the price is right [ed. $20 ain't right enough?] then we should split a case. 14%

2006 Henry No. 1 $50: The big ticket blend of 50% Malbec, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Syrah. The blend can vary year to year. Juan Roby is the winemaker who selects and blends the best fruit production from the five vineyards in each vintage. This is very much like a Bordeaux blend, although quite young right now. Forward and rich style of a St. Julien. Not tBoW's style, preferring the single vineyard Malbec. 14%

These are the guys from Bodegas Lontué whose wines we tasted, liked, but did not review. Their wines are from Santa Rosa which is about 60 km south of Mendoza; a hotter region at sea level. Very good value wines.

Bodega Mi Terruño is a family owned winery with holdings in Mendoza's Maipu, Lujan de Cuyo and Uco Valley regions. Style is very similar to Bodega Viniterra; tiny production - only 8,000 cases here - and commitment to quality. Both presented a full array covering the spectrum of white and red wines and a couple of unexpected ringers. Happily, both bodegas make excellent wine.

2009 Mi Terruño Torrontes $11: Mealy, high tone, structured. Nicest Torrontes here. From Santa Rose vines. Would seek this one out. Good acid. Very good effort. An absolute steal at this price. 13.9%

2007 Mi Terruño Malbec Rosé $10: What a nice surprise. Grapefruit flavors, good acid. 13%

2008 Mi Terruño Reserve Malbec $16: Fruity, mild tannins. The notorious entry level wine. Very good. 13.5%

2008 Mi Terruño Malbec Limited Reserva $22: Half Cabernet Sauvignon from Uco Valley. Lush, lovely, middle weight. $14.2%

2007 Mi Terruño Mayacaba $50: The old vines bottle blends juice from the finest Perdriel vineyards in Lujan de Cuyo. 100% Malbec. Chewy, tannic, Rich. Primo. I could not justify spending $50 but if I did I would buy this before the LaGarde Henry blend. Female winemaker. 14.5%

After the tasting the tBoW team dined at Marino Restaurant in Hollywood. A first time for tBoW and crew. Old style Hollywood with up to date cooking and a classic old style Hollywood wine list; six pages of fairly priced Italian selections followed by three pages of first and second growth Bordeaux going back to the 70s for "da playahs". Highly recommended.