Wine Cuentista.

Argentina is a country that’s close to my heart; it’s my wife’s home country and as a result it’s been our major holiday destination over recent years. Since I began my career in the wine industry almost 4 years ago now, it probably comes as no surprise that I’ve taken advantage of those trips to try a great deal of Argentinian wine and make a few trips out to wine country. In Argentina, wine production is dominated by Mendoza, a large region pressed up against the Andes Mountains, responsible for 75% of the entire countries output. That’s not to say that there aren’t a lot of very interesting projects happening around the country, there certainly are, but if you want to go and get an idea of what Argentine wine is all about, Mendoza should be your destination.

I was very fortunate to have 5 days in Mendoza towards the end of December 2018, and I could see how much had changed even in the three years since my last trip there. After spending those days intensely visiting wineries, meeting with wine-makers and even having the pleasure of a 12 hour drive around all the major sub-regions of Mendoza, I’ve found myself becoming really excited about the future of Argentine wine; there’s gold in those hills! So commercially successful for so long due to the brand power of Argentine Malbec, the industry seemed to stagnate a little in the early 2000’s as that success became a double edged sword; heavy, oaky Malbec was anathema to a younger generation of wine drinker looking for transparency, freshness and terroir specific wines. Argentina has since responded heartily, and there’s as much exciting, interesting wine here as anywhere else in the world now, you just need to know where to look!

Before delving into some observations about the changes I’ve seen this time around, I’d like to quickly summarise Argentina in broad strokes, as it’s easy to forget what a large producer it is on the global scene:

The Argentine Wine Industry

Argentina is the 5th largest producer of wine in the world, with an annual output of around 15 million hectolitres (1.5 billion litres). Around a quarter of this is exported, with the other 75% mostly consumed by the traditionally thirsty local population.

Argentina has around 225,000 hectares of vines planted, nearly all running along a 7,700km strip along the Andes mountain range, from Salta in the North to Patagonia in the south. Whilst wine production has now diversified as far as Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Jujuy, this long strip of irrigated desert accounts for the vast majority of wine produced in Argentina.

Malbec is still king, accounting for around 33% of all red wine produced in the country and 18% of total plantings. Yet even that is deceptively small figure as there’s still a great deal of plantings accounted for by varieties that rarely make it into quality wine, such as Pedro Ximenez, Cereza, Criolla Grande and Moscatel Rosado.

Despite the amount of exciting, smaller producers in Argentina, about 70% of the market is owned by
the 6 largest producers. Trapiche is comfortably the biggest producer of wine in Argentina, of around 1,000 in total. To put that into perspective, there are over 6 times as many registered producers in Bordeaux alone as there are in the entire of Argentina.

Exports remain important for the Argentine market, with America and Canada it’s two largest customers. Inflation leading to increased production costs has put this under pressure, at a time when influx of international currency is necessary.

So, with that being said and done, what’s going on with Argentine wine today?

In the Vineyard

Argentina is a quite unique country when it comes to viticulture. Many of their best growing regions are essentially deserts that were only historically viable due to natural sources of water to be used for constant irrigation, high altitudes and the relative absence of phylloxera. Even today, irrigation and altitude are key to producing quality wine and there’s been a rush on prime pieces of land in regions where no-one would have bothered planting with much hope a couple of decades ago. I was very fortunate to spend an entire day with Martin Kaiser, a viticulturist working with Dona Paula, as we travelled far and wide around Mendoza, investigating different appellations, vineyards and spent a great deal of time in soil pits! Much of what I learnt about Argentine viticulture came from this intensive day, and I’m hugely grateful to Martin for taking the time to show me around.

Appellations and Geography – Mendoza is a huge place with enormously varied altitudes (650m up to around 1600m), soil types and wine styles and trying to understand it as a singular zone is impossible. As it happens, Mendoza is split into 18 separate communes which are increasingly seen on wine labels as wine-makers seek to understand and communicate the differences between the various zones. Most wineries are still located within the traditional zones of Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo, but it seems like practically all the excitement is directed further south, to the Uco Valley and its sub-regions. Producers now generally distinguish between wines made from fruit from Vista Flores, La Consulta, Gualtallary and San Carlos, and individual vineyards from across Mendoza now frequently take pride-of-place on wine labels. I’d like to think that the best will become recognisable in their own right.

Altitude – Since Nicolas Catena first started planting high altitude Malbec in the early 1990’s, the future of the industry has been inexorably drawn south, towards the Uco Valley. The higher altitudes bring a whole new dimension to the Argentine wine industry, beyond that of simply mitigating temperature. In tastings, Malbec from the Uco Valley has generally been darker, richer yet fresher, with a characteristic spiciness to the wine that is so rarely present in the same grapes planted at lower elevations. A major aspect of this, investigated thoroughly by the Catena Institute, is the effects of UV light on grape skin, tannin and colour development at these higher elevations.

If you look at the image above, you’ll see that at elevations of 500m and 1000m, the difference between grapes that were protected from UV rays versus those with normal exposure, made very little different to the development of colour and tannin. However, at 1450-1500m, in Catena’s famous Adrianna Vineyard, this changes drastically. The grape skins thicken and darken, providing more colour, more tannin and invariably, more flavour compounds to be extracted from the skins. Ironically, grapes from the Uco Valley used to be used as a blending component for just this reason, yet now it’s a gold-rush to acquire the best sites here as the potential quality has suddenly been realised.

Understanding Soil – Despite the fact that the exact link between soil types and wine styles still isn’t well understood, it’s clear and obvious that soil affects the outcome of the growing season, which in turn affects the grapes and ultimately, the sort of wine made. If you’ve ever done a comparative tasting using the same grape variety on different soil types, you’ll know exactly what I mean. I did just this with Martin Kaiser, comparing 12 experimental wines in flights of 4, comparing 4 different parts of 3 vineyards, each with a different soil composition. The amount of calcium carbonate in the soil is a driving factor, with many producers valuing it very highly indeed for the elegance and freshness it brings to Malbec. The stony, calcareous soils of Gualtallary, for example, are a big reason for why land here is so valued, and we’d routinely stop so Martin could take soil samples and test their reactivity with an acidic solution he kept in the truck; the greater the reaction, the greater the level of calcium carbonate in the soil.

Driving around with Martin was fascinating on this topic; we’d routinely stop so he could explain to me what I was looking at, particularly in reference to the cross-sections of rocks we passed by. According to the size and shape of the rocks, as well as how they landed, you can make some very educated guesses about how old they are and how they got there. Larger rocks could only be moved by a river swollen from a storm, and when the rocks were thrown together and stood at awkward angles, locked in a bed of silt and sand, you knew it had been quite the ordeal!

We also spent a great deal of time in soil pits. Over the last decade, the efforts that have been expended to understand the soil types, particularly in the Uco Valley again, have been nothing short of gargantuan. Doña Paula have dug well over 1,000 soil pits in their own vineyards, but pride of place surely goes to Catena Zapata. They have dug over 70 soil pits per hectare in their Adrianna Vineyard; their highest elevation site and their crown jewel. Finca Adrianna is 145HA in size. 145X70 = 10,150. Yes, over 10,000, individual soil pits. It might sound crazy, but understanding their soil has allowed Catena to produce a small range of wines made from individual plots. Their ‘White Bones’ and ‘White Stones’ Chardonnays are the best white wines I’ve had the pleasure of ever tasting from South America, whilst there’s a strong future for ‘Fortuna Terrae’ and ‘River Stones’ Malbecs, each produced from a separate plot within Finca Adrianna. They’re doing in the space of a decade what it took the monks of Burgundy hundreds of years to achieve, and it’s fascinating to watch!

Irrigation – Irrigation is a fact of life in Argentine viticulture; you can’t grow grapes here without it, save for a very few lucky spots. Rainfall is less than 300mm a year and whilst the snow melt from the Andes mountains replenishes the rivers every year, it needs to be used carefully. Despite this, Martin suggested that as much as 70% of the regions irrigation was the inefficient flood irrigation system, particularly in the lower, flatter areas of Maipu and Lujan de Cuyo. Cheap and efficient, this is also a large part of the reason that phylloxera isn’t as much of an issue in Argentina as it is in other regions; they’re routinely drowned by flooding the vineyards.

The problem is that water rights are hard to come by; they’re generally attached to the land itself and much of that is owned by growers who are reluctant to sell. Add the expense of drilling bore-holes to get down to the water itself – some producers were digging over 150m deep to find a large enough body of water – and you have limited site selection. Thankfully, most vineyards I visited had invested in the far more efficient drip-irrigation systems, and I even had a chance to look at the computerised controls for one of Doña Paula’s vineyards in San Carlos. Whilst relatively expensive to install at $4k/hectare, they’re more than twice as efficient thereafter and I suspect that water shortages here aren’t a thing of the distant future…

More than Malbec – Malbec is the undisputed king of Argentine wine, a well known name around the world and intrinsically linked with Argentina, despite its French origins. It has the potential to make simple, easy drinking wine, large scale commercial brands and some of the most sublime wine to come out of the country and as new sites are planted and specific terroir understood, the best is yet to come!

Yet, it’s far from the only quality red grape in Argentina and plantings have diversified greatly in the last few years. Speak to any Argentine wine-maker and they’ll likely surprise you with their own personal plans and projects. Despite accounting for less than 1% of Argentina’s vineyards, Cabernet Franc is disproportionately visible and is increasingly valued as both a blending partner and as a varietal wine, adding freshness and sappy, spiciness to Malbec. Cabernet Sauvignon is finding its feet anew in the Uco Valley, producing fresh, engaging wines that are miles away from their broad, often bland cousins at lower elevations. Bonarda and Criolla can be very engaging when cropped at low yields and put in the right hands, and I was even able to find Spanish and Italian varieties on the supermarket isles, showing that experimentation isn’t just limited to the small, boutique producers. White varieties are similarly diverse, although less visible as a whole.

As Argentine viticulture is better understood, I expect to see even more diversification in plantings and styles. I enjoyed a superb Fiano from Bodega Caelum in Lujan de Cuyo. One of the most interesting and vibrant Semillon wines came from Matias Riccitelli in Patagonia and I’ve finally found a few Pinot Noir’s that are worth really getting excited about. There’s now a small amount of land planted in the Uco Valley (around 50-100HA) that’s even classified as Winkler I, putting it in a similar category to the Loire Valley when it comes to growing conditions. Then at lower conditions, I’m hoping that someone has the good sense to start planting Grenache, Mourvedre and other drought-resistant varieties. In the old vineyards of Maipu and the lower elevation areas of Lujan de Cuyo, the quality of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon is declining and won’t survive the increases in temperature set to come; prices paid per kilo for fruit here is often so low that growers are giving up and moving on, or selling their land to property developers. I hope that there’s a whole new chapter for this these regions and if it’s realised, it’ll come with a brand new style of wine.

In the Winery

Most of the developments in Argentine wine have come from a better understanding of viticulture, geography, terroir and soil. However, behind the scenes wine-making has also changed significantly, with a focus on fresher wines that are often lighter in alcohol and easier to drink. There’s really no point in spending time and money understanding your soil, aiming to produce quality, single vineyard or single plot wines and then obscuring it with clumsy wine-making.

Transparency – The stylistic changes in the world of wine at large haven’t escaped Argentina, and the wine-making style has changed dramatically even within the 5 years that I’ve known the wines here. From extremely ripe Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, laden with French and often American oak and sold in glass bottles so formidable they could probably be used as a murder weapon, to eclectic blends, pure-fruited wines made with little to no intervention and really vibrant, fresh examples of most major varieties. I found it thrilling to be in a wine bar and to have the choice of several different communes, single vineyards and occasional even wines made from individual parcels.

Alcohol – This is linked to the above point, but the changes here are so significant that I think they deserve their own mention. If you read descriptions of Argentine Malbec in most books, the descriptions are very different to a lot of quality wine coming out of the country today. The most recent edition of ‘The World Atlas of Wine’ describes a typical Malbec as ‘opulent’ whilst Oz Clarke’s ‘Grapes and Wine’ refers to ‘a lush, fat rich fruit flavour’. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not denying that Malbec is still made this way and can be absolutely delicious as a hedonistic pleasure, but this powerhouse style wasn’t on the menu much during my trip. Actually, something I enjoyed a great deal was the rediscovery of Malbec as a grape originating from Bordeaux. More than once I looked at my tasting notes and saw a note that could easily be misinterpreted for a high quality wine from St. Emilion, with lovely notes of graphite, delicate floral characters and pronounced, sappy, herbal flavours. This pull-back in ripeness and extraction has given Malbec a new identity and, I believe, a truer example of what it always was as a grape.

It’s easy to try a few wines, note changes and assume that’s true for the entire industry. However, a good barometer is often the wines produced in larger volumes, as they’re often quite cynically produced to match current trends and consumer demands. Instead of the 14-14.5% that was true across the board a few years ago, 13-14% is now far more likely, with the fresher flavours and firmer tannic structure that usually implies. Even wines that are exported heavily to the US market have become lighter and more agile. In fact, I even tasted a few bottles that I thought were made from under-ripe grapes and were unpleasantly green; in Argentina! This latter point highlights that there are natural limits which shouldn’t be pushed too far in the name of fashion.

Cement, Concrete and Eggs – The global trend to ‘go back to your roots’ in wine-making is alive and well in Argentina, albeit with a slightly shorter history than most of the Old World. Argentina owes much of its wine culture to the huge immigration of mainly Spanish and Italian families in the 19th and 20th centuries, who unsurprisingly brought their techniques, styles and thirst with them. If you visit any of the older wineries in Mendoza, particularly around Lujan de Cuyo where a lot of the venerable old producers still stand, you’ll find vast, lined, cement and concrete tanks, which were used as a primary fermentation vessel for decades. Then came the technological revolution and Argentina’s return to reality in the 90’s, and everyone rushed to stainless steel and small barriques, but wine-makers are now making a conscious effort to return to less technological ideals.

I only made 7 visits during my time in Mendoza this year, but there was a combination of these older fermentation vessels in every single one, regardless of where they were. Interestingly, very few producers have gone the whole hog, and even if barriques weren’t the order of the day, they were seen as an important blending component to the completed wine. As someone who finds himself easily irritated by people charging from one extreme to the other, I enjoyed the pragmatism. Zuccardi and the Michelini Brothers are perhaps the best examples of using this combination of oak, cement and amphorae to brilliant effect, and it seems to be catching on! At the Catena Institute I saw some of the largest concrete eggs I’d ever seen; I can only imagine how they’re moved around!

The Trade

I’m trying my best to understand more about how the world of wine works from a commercial level, partly because I’ll need to in order to pass the MW exams I’m aiming for, and partly because I find myself increasingly more interested in it. Argentina is an interesting way to start digging into this world, as its economy isn’t as stable as producers or consumers would like! From issues with inflation to an increasing reliance on exports, Argentine wine has some difficult challenges ahead.

Inflation – The first time I visited Argentina back in 2012, I was able to exchange a euro for around 8 pesos. The next time I visited in 2015, it had jumped up to 12 pesos officially, and 18 on the black market. Visiting a few months ago at the tail end of 2018, there’s no black market and banks are purchasing euros for 43 pesos each. Inflation is a way of life in Argentina, and the people here are naturally accustomed to the sort of economic stability that would cause wide-spread panic in Europe within a few weeks. However, over the last few years it’s accelerated heavily with knock-on effects for everyone, including the wine industry.

With inflation comes increased production costs, particularly when buying in equipment from outside the country (French oak, bottling equipment etc), bumping up the price of wine. In such a competitive market, this has disastrous consequences, particularly for entry level wines, which can’t absorb the extra cost without becoming uncompetitive. Difficulties in accurately valuing the currency compound the matter, and the result is lost sales on the increasingly important export markets.

Poor Vintages – As if the above weren’t enough, Argentina suffered through a string of difficult, often wet vintages with reduced yields. 2016 and 2017 in particular were very small vintages, with 2016 being almost 30% down on 2015. Whilst certain wineries have worked hard to acquire land, a great deal still purchase their grapes from the 20,000 or so growers across the country, and when these yields dropped consecutively, the response from the growers was to raise the price. According to Martin Kaiser, the average price of Malbec from vineyards in Lujan de Cuyo went from around $650/ton, to almost $1000. So whilst life is getting tougher for your average Argentinian, export markets are shrinking and importation costs are higher, now the cost of grapes goes up by almost 50%. The result? More expensive wine and the additional shrinking of the local market, which is well used to tightening its belt when things get tough. The result of these two issues is that Argentina’s wine surplus has risen to almost 200 million litres.

Not all Doom and Gloom – Whilst it’s hard times for the Argentine wine industry, not all is lost. In the last few years, Argentina has made strides forward in the premium market, with several producers breaking ground in the international markets, although American publications do seem to still largely favour only a handful of producers (I also confirmed that certain Argentina wine ‘experts’ had never even visited the country. Shameful). Add to that the increase in quality enotourism in Mendoza and the evolution of bodegas to offer structured, quality experiences, and there’s a certain amount of excitement bubbling underneath the surface. Journalists like Tim Atkin MW visiting the country ever year for an intensive trip is exactly the sort of exposure that the industry needs, particularly for the small-to-medium sized producers making fantastic wine but unable to find an appropriate audience internationally. For a truly detailed view on Argentine wine, do have a look at Tim’s annual report – the next one will be out soon as he’s there right now!

My Top 10 Argentine Wines

I had originally planned on typing up all my tasting notes, but as I ended up with well over 100, it just wasn’t feasible in terms of time and space, so, I’ve taken a selection of my top 10 wines from the trip. This may include wines tasted at the winery, bottles drank at home or tasted in a bar; I’ve mostly managed to stop myself from taking formal tasting notes in restaurants, much to my wife’s delight. As always, wine-making information comes first, followed by the tasting note and score. Whilst, frustratingly, a good few of these wines aren’t currently available outside of Argentina, plenty are and are well worth seeking out!

Catena Zapata White Stones Chardonnay 2016
100% Chardonnay from a single plot of alluvial soil and white stones, in the Adrianna Vineyard (1450m above sea level). Fermentation and ageing in French oak barrels, partial MLF. 13% ABV

Another vintage, another beautiful bottling of Catena’s top Chardonnays. A touch more subdued aromatically than its stablemate, White Bones, but already very endearing. Ripe lemon, mandarine orange, tarragon, white flowers and superbly integrated, smoky oak. Then on the palate this is practically vibrating with energy and precise, linear acidity; almost Mendoza meets Grand Cru Chablis in style. Gorgeous, chalky texture and no end of flavour. This, along with White Bones, remain the most remarkable white wines I’ve tried in South America and seem to go from strength to strength. Superb. 96pts

Catena Zapata ‘Argentino’ Malbec 2015
100% Malbec from a mixture of old vines from both Lujan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley (900 to 1100m above sea level). 20% whole bunch, fermented in 225L oak barrels for 30 days. Further aged in French oak for 18 months. 14% ABV

A remarkable wine with a remarkable label, from the producer I regard as the very best in Argentina. Deep and brooding in the glass, this certainly isn’t shy although it’s still very young. Ripe plums and strawberries are to the fore, complemented by licorice, fresh violets, dark chocolate, vanilla and baking spices. Very fresh on the palate with lots of ripe, finely grained tannins and masses of flavour. For a young, powerful wine this is surprisingly vibrant and the acidity lasts well into the long, chalky finish. Full of energy and has a long, delicious life ahead of it. 95Pts

Matias Riccitelli Old Vine Semillon 2016
100% Semillon from old vines (60-70 years old) in Rio Negro, Patagonia. 48 hours skin contact, then fermented and aged in a mixture of concrete vats and old barrels, left for 8 months post-fermentation. 14% ABV

Argentina might not be your first thought when thinking of varietal Semillon, but between Humberto Canale and Matias Riccitelli, you might become convinced; I certainly am now! My first thought when I smelt this was a comparison with Hunter Valley Semillon, but this is larger in scale and much wilder. Intense notes of grapefruit, freshly cut grass, orange pith and smoke pour out of the glass, with the acidity running the show on the palate, making a mockery of the 14% ABV. Pure fruited but a little wild and rugged overall in character, with the same smoky, citrus fruits lasting well into the finish. Quite special! 94Pts

Caelum Fiano Gran Reserva 2016
Only 3,000 bottles produced per year. 100% Fiano from their vineyards surrounding the winery in Lujan de Cuyo (800m above sea level). Light skin contact before fermentation in oak, and aged for a further 12 months in older French oak barrels. 13% ABV

Fiano, in Mendoza? If it’s as engaging as this wonderful wine, why not! Aromatic and surprisingly Italian in character, with the green apples, melon, white peach, pistachio nuts, green tea and light toast. Persistent, bright acidity makes this refreshing and mouth-watering, but there’s plenty of texture and weight to boot, with a savoury, mealy finish. Quite unique and much the best of the range that I tried. 93Pts

Pulenta Gran Corte 2014
36% malbec, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot and 9% Tannat from the ‘La Zulema’ vineyard in Lujan de Cuyo (850m above sea level). Fermented in a combination of stainless steel and older oak barrels, racked on auto-rollers. Aged for 18 months in mostly new French oak. 14.5% ABV

I adore the Cabernet Franc from Pulenta, but this time around their Gran Corte stole the show! Ripe and densely packed even approaching 5 years of age, this is full of ripe blackberry, plum and strawberry fruit, with subtle notes of green bell pepper, cloves and toast. Firm and structured on the palate, with well balanced acidity keeping the size of the wine in check. Complete and delicious, although I suspect it’ll hit its peak with another few years of age. 93Pts

Escorihuela Gascon Gran Reserva Malbec 2015
100% Malbec from their own vineyards in Agrelo (800m above sea level). Fermented in a mixture of old oak and stainless steel, aged in a mixture of new and old French oak barrels for 12 months, and a further 12 months in bottle before release. 13% ABV

A consistently solid, traditional producer in Lujan de Cuyo. This is the first time I’d had the pleasure of trying their Gran Reserva Malbec, and it’s very much my style of wine. Ripe, slightly dried blackberries and damsons, beetroot, warm earth, beef stock and black pepper. So deliciously old-fashioned and savoury, with a wonderful blend of oxidative fruit, tertiary characters and gentle oak treatments. Caressing and complete on the palate, with a very old-world style. I’d love to have this bottle on the dinner table at Christmas! 93Pts

Pyros Valle de Pedernal Malbec 2016
100% Malbec from Valle de Pedernal in San Juan (1400m above sea level). Destemmed and fermented in stainless steel before being aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. 14% ABV

Buying this was pure pot-luck, in a supermarket, no less! A project launched less than 10 years ago by the founder of Mendoza based winery Salentein, the objective of Pyros is to explore and celebrate some of the more interesting terroirs of the San Juan valley. A deep, bright ruby colour and full of ripe red fruits; cherry, damson and just a hint of dark, brambly fruits tinging the profile. Floral and spicy, this is quite different to your typical Malbec! Fresh and finely grained, with more delicately etched flavours and a long, spicy finish. Outstanding price-quality-ratio and quite a unique style of Malbec; I’ve never tried anything quite like this before! 93Pts

Zuccardi Polignonos Cabernet Franc 2016
100% Cabernet Franc from San Pablo in the Uco Valley (1400m above sea level). Fermented in concrete tanks and aged for 12 months in 2,500L foudres. 13% ABV

Dark, deep Cabernet Franc yet with all the delicate fragrance you might expect from grapes grown in a cooler climate. Ripe strawberry and cherry fruit, graphite, crushed violets and leafy, green tones, but there’s no lack of ripeness here. Fresh and much lighter than most wines I tried in Argentina, with notably light tannins. Persistent and charismatic; a lovely Cabernet Franc! 93 Pts

Susana Balbo Barrel Fermented Torrontes 2016
100% Torrontes from Altamira in the Uco Valley (1150m above sea level). Fermented in new French oak and then aged for a further 4 months. 13% ABV

A producer I didn’t get to visit this time around, but I managed to find a great deal of their wines in shops and bars, this being a stand-out example of Torrontes and, unusually, with a noticeable oak component. This is still very much Torrontes, though; hello, terpenes! Ripe, white peach, apricot, sappy herbs and white flowers soar from the glass, with the oak more noticeable on the palate. There’s a lovely creamy texture and lots of typical, phenolic flavours. I can see this confusing people but I love it. 92Pts

Ruca Malen Brut NV
75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay from Tupungato in the Uco Valley (1200m above sea level). 24 hour cold-soak and fermented in stainless steel. Aged for 12 months in the lees before disgorgement. 5G/l RS. 12.7% ABV

A side project from the head winemaker at Bodega Chandon, this is the most convincing Argentine sparkling wine I’ve tried to date. Autumnal and ripe, with lovely aromas of raspberries, ripe orchard fruits, brioche, crushed biscuits with butter and a touch of anis. Off-dry and very creamy on the palate, with a squeeze of citrus keeping it fresh and balanced. Very affordable in Argentina and a wine I would drink a lot of if I lived there! 91Pts