I’ve recently been in Mendoza, and have some pronounced views as to Mendoza wines. This is a very hot weather climate, which features malbec as its main grape, although the region also produces chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon.
Mendoza produces some excellent wines. The climate and terrain is almost desert like, with essentially sandy soils and a long, hot growing season. Malbec does very well in that environment, and cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay do well also. The major issue in my mind is that, with all that heat, the vines get very little chance to rest during the growing season.
In Bordeaux (the spiritual home of cabernet sauvignon), or in Burgundy or California (where chardonnay does extremely well), night times are relatively cool. This gives the vines an opportunity to rest, and promotes complexity in the wine as sugar levels do not overachieve.
Mendoza vines, by and large, do not have the same opportunity. The climate is so unrelentingly hot during the long growing season, and nights are so warm and dry, that sugar levels and juice concentration reach much higher levels. As a result, you get less complex, but very powerful, wines with huge fruit and intense flavours. In the end, it all depends on whether you like your wines with more complexity or more intensity. There’s no right or wrong – just a question of what you prefer.
The Loire region of France is known for its white wines and spectacular chateaus. The main white wine grapes here are sauvignon blanc, muscadet and chenin blanc. The region also produces pinot noir and cabernet franc.
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The most important thing you need to know about this release is that, despite a few decent wines, you won’t miss much if you skip it entirely.DESSERT WINES
The Grahams Vintage Port 2007 ($85.00) is reputed to be exceptional. If you want a port that has it all, and don’t care about price, this may be for you. It’s still very young, and will last for decades, but you may also have to wait decades to get a better port. Expect hazel nuts, black currents, liqueur, kirsch, marmalade in perfectly integrated layers. This port will impress, especially after an exceptional meal, and, perhaps, 10 or more years, but don’t discount it as a special treat for some, far off, occasion.
If waiting 10 years, and paying $85.00 doesn’t do it for you, the Dalva Colheita Port 1997 ($27.95) is a very good, drink now, alternative. This is a nutty, intense, after-dinner concoction of toffee, hazel nut, fig, and candied fruit, that will go very well with dried fruit, chocolate and blue cheese. The perfect end to a rich, satisfying meal.
WHITE WINES
The Domaine Lecomte Quincy 2008 ($18.95) from the Loire is a fairly concentrated sauvignon blanc, with white grapefruit, melon and quince. This wine will drink well on its own but, I think, would be better with food – preferably with soft cheese, fried white fish or a chicken salad.
I’ve always liked lean muscadet’s with oysters or mussels, and the Domaine Des Quatres Routes Muscadet Sevre & Maine 2008 ($11.95) is great value, whether on its own or with those dishes. You’ll get grapefruit, green apple, and notes of orange peel on this well priced, well integrated wine.
The Domaine Hubert Reyser Clevner Sonnenberg 2008 ($16.95) from Alsace is a combination or aromatic varietals – I’m guessing Riesling and Sylvanner. This slightly off-dry wine, with aromas of diesel and white flowers, and notes of grapefruit and orange. It would work really well with dishes as diverse as quiche lorraine, barbecued sausage, cheese or roast pork.
The Stag’s Leap Winery Chardonnay 2007 from California will set you back $34.95, but it’s wrth it as a special treat. When California does chardonnay well, it does it really well. Expect mineral, green apple, and white flowers, with toasted hazel nut, smoke, vanilla and a touch of well integrated, buttery oak. Serve with roast chicken, tuna salad, or on its own.
RED WINES
The Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec 2007 ($17.95) is just a great malbec for the price. Expect black plum, cocoa, tobacco and a mildly mineral finish. Serve with virtually any red meat – hamburgers to grilled steak – and you won’t be disappointed.
The Laura Hardwig Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($13.95) from Chile is a great deal for the money. This wine is a little one dimensional, but it’s a soft, smooth, well integrated wine with red plum, apple, vanilla, oak and spice. A very good burger/pizza wine.
I’m not normally a fan of Mexico’s L.A. Cetto winery, but the L.A. Cetto Private Reserve Nebbiolo 2004 ($17.95) is a good imitation of a Piedmont original. It’s full of black plum, tobacco, cocoa, leather and tar, and will work well with barbecued beef. One caution, the wine is 14.5% alcohol, and the result is a slightly off-dry sensation as a result of the extra glycerin.
The Domaine Calvet-Thunevin Cuvee Constance 2007 ($16.95) is an interesting, if slightly unusual, offering from the Rhone. This wine is also high in alcohol (15%) and has an immediate nose, and flavour, of caramel. There’s also cooked cherry, and green apple, with very soft tannins, and a medium body. This is a good food wine. I wouldn’t match it with beef though because there’s too much in the way of sweet fruit. Try spareribs, or even crème caramel as a complement.
The Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Tenuta di Castiglioni 2007 ($21.95) comes from one of Italy’s best producers. It’s essentially a Bordeaux blend (cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc) with sangiovese, and yields a tasty, structured wine with notes of earth, black cherry, dark plum, oak and vanilla. Serve with grilled red meat or hard cheese. A very good, well balanced wine.
Bordeaux lovers (includes me) should get some of the Chateau Beaumont 2006 ($21.00). There are notes of roasted green pepper, violets, vanilla, plum and earth, with soft tannins and a long finish. This wine is at its peak now and goes very well with roasted red meat. Do aerate for at least an hour before serving.
There’s a limited amount of the La Brancaia Tre 2007 ($25.95) from Tuscany, but, if you can get your hands on some, it will be worth your while. This wine resembles a good brunello, but at half the price. Expect luscious fruit flavours of raspberry and blackberry, with chewy coffee, butterscotch and vanilla notes. Decant for an hour and serve with a veal chop.
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