Tuesday, May 27, 2014

May 2014 – Vinalba Wines from Argentina


  The wines were presented by Abi Mitton (formerly Abi Sykes) of Buckingham Schenk  www.buckingham-schenk.co.uk/ , who are an off trade wine importer supplying supermarkets, off licences and wholesalers. We had a good turnout of about 35 people, almost running out of chairs, for a good evening.

All the wines are from Vinalba which is a large Argentinian producer; most of the wines can be found in Majestic, one in Asda, and I’m not sure where the Rose can be found as I didn’t note it down. Sorry about that.

 The Wines 

Torrontes Selection 2013 – Mendoza. £7.99, Majestic 

Chardonnay reservado 2013, Mendoza. £8.99. Majestic 

Rose 2013. Syrah/Grenache, Mendoza 

Malbec/Syrah 2012, Patagonia. £6.50, Asda 

Malbec reservado 2012, Mendoza. £11.99 Majestic 

Cuvee Couture Malbec/Touriga £11.75 Majestic 

Fifty Fifty Reservado 2012 Malbec/Cabernet/Sauvignon £11.99 Majestic 

Malbec Gran Reservado 2011, Mendoza. £15.99 

The whites are both fine; if you want something a little out of the ordinary, go for the Torrontes, as its got a good balance of fruit and freshness, unoaked, and just a little residual sugar.

The Rose was OK, but the problem with all Rosés is that they are very location sensitive – lovely in garden on a sunny afternoon, less so in the library on a Thursday night… 

The reds were all good, but the star buy in terms of VFM has got to be the Malbec/Syrah from Asda, which is definitely a steal at £6.50. 

Also worth trying is the Malbec/Touriga which blends one of the top Argentinian grapes with one of the best Portuguese.