Argentina is famed for its wine; in fact, wine is legally recognised as the country’s national beverage. Historically its famed Malbec has had ‘Main Character Energy’ but, on a recent trip to the wine region of Mendoza (pronounced ‘Mendosa’ with an ‘s’), there were some other finds that struck me with their star quality. Eduardo Suarez of Ver Sacrum refuses to produce Malbec, focusing on a range of other grapes.
“Nature loves diversity and hates monoculture, I am convinced that a monovarietal country is doomed,” he explains. “After all, wine is nature”. He poured out his La Dama Del Abrigo Rojo (£31.
70, Noblegrape.co.uk) over dinner, my first South American Nebbiolo, and it was delicious.
Why isn’t there more of this stuff around? We often think of reds as full-blooded, powerful glasses to be enjoyed Gaucho style with thick, juicy slabs of Argentine steak. But white wines are gaining momentum, with the rising global and local demand for lighter, fresher, vegetarian-friendly wines. Torrontes is the most cultivated white in Argentina, but it can be problematic with its typically simple florals.
I have heard it (unfairly, I think) likened to air freshener in wine circles. Chakana has solved that with its dynamic take on the grape from a skin contact wine I adored, and its more conventional (but still superb) Estate Selection Torrontes (VINVM.co.
uk, £18.30). An innovative biodynamic winery – in a country where less than one per cent of wines are biodyn.
