Buen Vino de la Argentina - Si!

So, now that we're on Twitter, I figure it's probably a good time to get back in here and do some reviews.  It's been a while since I wrote about any wines we've enjoyed (or not), but I'm not alone - look at that list of contributors - seen any of them lately?  No, neither have I.  I hope they know I'm just kidding.  I am you know.  Really.  Anyway.

Last week we decided to give another Malbec a try.  In the rack we had a Bodega Norton Malbec 2007 (you'll excuse me if I hear Jackie Gleason's voice in my head right now) that we decided would be a good match for some pasta we were having.  I opened the bottle, poured two glasses and let them sit for bit.  I took a sip a few minutes later and was a bit overwhelmed by tannins and some acidity.  I'll admit, I was more than a little nervous that this a poor choice.  However, after letting it sit a while longer, eating some dinner, I picked up the glass again and was pleasantly surprised by how it had mellowed and accented the pasta quite well.  It is a fairly fruity wine with plum and cherry accents and a hint of currant.  It should definitely be given ample breathing time to bring out its more subtle notes and allow its character to develop.

It lists anywhere between $7.29 and $9.99 and is quite a good bargain.  Quick story: I went into a closet where we have more wine stored (the rack is full) looking for another bottle for this evening and grabbed another bottle of the very same Norton 2007.  This was bought two weeks ago and about five days before we enjoyed the reviewed bottle.  Apparently the wine gods influenced this purchase knowing we would find one we would like.

The Problem With The South American Wine Thing

I had several problems (all of them personal - not like I won't share them with you, but like I am a moron problems) with the South American wine assignment.

1) I thought we were supposed to pick a South African wine at first. I'm just bad at reading. But seriously, South Africa has great wines, we should do that sometime.

2) I drank the bottle of wine and forgot to write down what it was.

Judging from this wonderful picture that I took with my cell phone it is a 2005 Malbec. I'm pretty sure it $12.99 and from Argentina. Also judging from this picture I am pretty sloppy when it comes to pouring.

I think I liked it. I think we drank it with some sort of chicken tacos. I'm pretty sure that I enjoyed it and it was spicy, and I am certain that I caught a nice buzz off of it and then threw away the bottle without writing anything down.

Next time I'll try to be more specific.

- Sarah

2004 Tacama Gran Blanc

We went out on a limb and got a white wine for our South American adventure. After some searching, we found a 2004 Tacama Gran Blanc. The Tacama Vineyard is located about 180 miles from Lima, Peru.

From the Tacama website:

The pale yellow colour of this wine gives it a lovely presentation. The freshness of its bouquet is revealed on first contact with the nose. Both flowery and fruity, with highly agreeable citric notes, its flavours give it a particular finesse. The grape varieties used are Semillon, Sauvignon, and Chenin.

The Tacama winery website also suggests some dinner pairings with their wines, and for this wine, suggested “Plain poultry and fish dishes, such as Roast Chicken, Roast Turkey, Fish in Meniuere Sauce, etc.”

We had this wine on Sunday night, paired with a Yancy’s Fancy Champagne cheese and Triscuits. (Money baby, we’re money.) The taste was fruity, light and crisp. The only thing we might have done differently was let the wine warm a bit before trying to drink it – we had refrigerated it since Friday (when it was bought) and it was very chilled.

While not fans of white wine, this one was an interesting change from the reds we normally drink. I think we paid about $10 for the bottle. ($9.99? Perhaps I should have saved the receipt.) While it could be an alternative to the usual pinot grigio or chardonnay (if we drank those on a regular basis), I don’t think we’ll buy this again.