The Argentinians are hoping for a banner sales year for their wines in the United States.
The drought and weather problems in California this year tells them there will be a much lower production of wines in 2014 and thus a greater call for their wines. Whether their prognostications are true, there are many Argentinian wines now coming to our shores.
One brand with some success among U.S. buyers is Alamos, whose most popular wine in this country is malbec. Like all of the Alamos wines, their grapes are high mountain-grown, taking advantage of cool winds blowing off of the Andes and perfect grape-growing soil.
Alamos 2013 Malbec ($13) The grapes used for this wine are the great, great grandchildren of the vines brought over by the original Spanish settlers. While the grapes had found a new home and thrived, it was the Italian immigrants of the 1900s that perfected the Argentinian winemaking techniques and brought the malbec to its full potential.
Today’s Alamos winemakers, to give the wine a bit more character and enhance the flavor and aroma signature, have blended a bit of syrah and the local bonarda with the malbec. Both of these wines are known to complement and enhance each other, so it seems to be a natural thing to do.
The Alamos 2013 Malbec has a deep ruby color and a medium body, as well as a flavor that’s almost explosive, exhibiting summer red fruits, cranberries, pomegranates and ripe giant raisins.
Alamos 2012 Seleccion Malbec ($20) When in the hands of inexperienced winemakers, malbec rarely shines; however, in the hands of the Alamos winemakers, it absolutely glows. The deep violet color alone indicates you’re in for something different, and you will not be disappointed.
The Alamos 2012 Seleccion Malbec was made from handpicked, special-selected grapes that were slowly fermented and given an extra long aging. This wine is 100 percent malbec with no blending, so the absolutely true qualities of the variety shine through.
This wine is alive with the flavors of plum and spice, with coffee and vanilla dancing in the background. Here is another red wine that can accompany all red meat dishes, as well as many Italian or Spanish dishes. The Alamos 2008 Malbec Seleccion is an interesting sidestep from the traditional red wines and is a wine we feel that you should become acquainted with.
Alamos 2010 Red Blend ($13)The Alamos winemakers blended an Argentinian fruit basket into this wine. Starting with malbec (what else would you expect from Argentinian winemakers?), they created a new wine that is as indicative of the Argentinian character as are gauchos.
This new wine blends malbec with tempranillo and bonarda. Bonarda is a grape variety, which was, before malbec, the most widely planted grape in Argentina and used mostly for table wines. It also was capable of producing a quality wine when properly handled. The combination of these grapes resulted in a delightful, full-flavored wine with a good bit of character.
The aroma displays dark red summer fruits, vanilla and spice. The flavor is a kaleidoscope of all the red fruits you can imagine, with cherries and plum being the most obvious. These flavors carry through to the long and intensely fruity finish. The wine is very soft and easy to enjoy and pairs with many of our modern meat and poultry dishes. This variety can prove to be an excellent choice when one tires of the usual fare, and it offers a chance to delve into the world of insightful blending.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.[[In-content Ad]]
