Author: Warren and Paul

An Argentine Wine Excursion

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By Michael Tyler

Our good friend Michael Tyler took a trip to Argentina and was able to visit a few wineries and taste the wines. Here is a post about his experiences.

By no means am I an oenophile. I just like good wine and have spent years trying to convert my humble palette to distinguish the differences between a good $20 bottle of wine and a bottle of two-buck chuck. Early last fall, I knew I would suffer from the winter blues in Washington. You know that time in mid-January-February when you are sick and tired of being cold and long for just one day without a coat and gloves. Knowing this would happen, I planned a winter vacation somewhere warm. As a result, I decided that sunny Argentina might just be my cure. I spent a marvelous 10 days there last winter on a vacation that exceeded my expectations. Argentina has a long history of wine production; so of course, I could not have ventured to the country without visiting the western province of Mendoza, which is the wine capital of the country.

Mendoza is sunny almost 365 days of the year, very arid and is located in a high altitude climate, all of which combine to form the perfect conditions for growing grapes. There are more than 200 wineries in the province but, unfortunately, I only was able to visit a few. This means I have to return again. Perhaps a 2010 winter vacation…hmmm.

The Ampora Wine Tour Company in Mendoza provided my tour group with a wonderful tasting experience. I must note that visiting wineries in Argentina is different from visiting them in Virginia. One must have an appointment to visit. Without an appointment, one will encounter locked gates and armed security. The only way to avoid this problem is to work through a third-party intermediary like Ampora. We toured four wineries in the Lujan de Cuyo valley.

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Argentina is known, of course, for its Malbec. When we think of Malbec, we usually think of a heavy red wine; however; the Malbec grape comes in many varieties and can be blended nicely. Argentine wines are a minimal 12-13% alcohol like many in the United States. The increased alcohol content is due to the strong mountain sun in that high altitude, which causes the grape skins to thicken and ultimately produce wines with lots of tannins. Also, the deep roots of the vines in the clay soil give the wines many minerals.

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The first winery we visited was Belasco de Baquedano. It is 1,000 meters high in the mountains. The lodge itself is fairly new; however, the vines are over 100 years old. The Belasco family has four other wineries in Spain, but only one in Argentina that produces Malbec. In 2008, it produced 65,000 liters of wine with 98% of it for export to 27 countries. Being that the winery is so new, it uses a modern, digital process to age the wine. This process consists of several 24,000 liter, digitally controlled tanks for fermentation and then aging in computer controlled climate rooms in 100% French oak barrels Depending on the type of wine, aging can take six, 12 or 18 months.

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We tasted four Belasco wines. I must mention that the tour group was invited to walk through the smells room before we actually sampled any wine. The smells room is a one-of-a kind room where different smells associated with wine have been trapped in airtight containers. A person walks up to a container and turns a dial to smell fresh pine, cherries, lemon, orange, bark, coffee, apples, blossoms, nutmeg, and a variety of other things that one might experience when sampling a good wine. The tour group enjoyed it tremendously.

1. Rosa, a rose which smelled of rose petals and tastes of strawberries, caramel and raspberries. It is a young wine and should be consumed in the year it was bottled.
2. Loan, is a Malbec which has a nice body and a spicy bite. For my palette, it was a little bitter.
3. AR Guentota is another Malbec that is very bold and spicy; one could smell some tobacco and a little of the barrel.
4. Swinto, a concentrated, big and bold Malbec. This product was aged 15 months in French oak barrels and bottled for 18 months.

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Stay tuned for part two of Michael’s trip to Argentina!

Guest Critic Michael Tyler at Chrysalis Vineyards

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Our friend and guest blogger Michael Tyler was anxious to join us for a wine tasting at Chrysalis Vineyards this past weekend. As readers may know, Michael prefers fruitier and even sweeter wines; therefore, his preferences are different than ours, and that’s just fine with us. So on a rainy afternoon, we all paid a visit to Chrysalis Vineyards to sample the latest releases.

Actually, we were due for a tasting at Chrysalis Vineyards as many new releases from the stellar 2007 vintage were on the menu. We armed Michael with his own gold stars, and we set him loose at the tasting bar. Of the white wines, Michael awarded the 2007 Viognier with his gold star award. He noted flowers on the nose and liked the melon fruit in the mouth. This is an outstanding Viognier, and we concurred with Michael’s choice. Don’t miss out on the 2007 Chardonnay—not many bottles of this one were left, and I made sure to make off with one of them. Done in the California style, this is a full-bodied, well balanced Chardonnay with a nice texture. Vanilla/nut nose with rich pear and apple flavors, it’s a must-have Chardonnay for Chardonnay lovers.


I did make a prediction before our tasting that Michael’s ultimate favorite would be the 2007 Sarah’s Patio Red, and I was not disappointed. In fact, Michael awarded two stars to the Patio Red. Between sips, Michael observed its bright ruby color and fell in love with its fruity nose. Bright berry flavors with a tart finish made this one an instant hit with Michael. The 2007 release did seem less sweet than in previous years, and the color alone makes it a stand out. I did note tart cranberry in the mouth; serve well-chilled, and this one is the ultimate deck sipper, pizza wine, or summer concert wine. However, for larger holiday gatherings when different palates have different tastes, the 2007 Patio Red might be the red wine of choice for white wine drinkers.

Now Paul was carefully reserving his gold stars for a red wine, and he found it with the 2004 Norton Estate Bottled. After a skillful swirl and sniff of this one, Paul observed notes of leather and tobacco with dry fruit flavors. Michael tended to prefer the jammier 2006 Norton Barrel Select that he likened to a Pinot Noir in character.


My own favorites? My own gold stars were awarded to the 2004 Petit Verdot and the 2004 Norton Locksley Reserve. The 2004 Petit Verdot possessed a dense cherry nose with extracted fruit flavors and a spicy edge. The 2004 Norton Locksley Reserve follows the heralded 2003 vintage in boldness and complexity. After 16months in oak and three years in the bottle, this one could still sit on the wine rack for a quite a while longer. However, it’s hard not to appreciate it now. Concentrated dark fruit flavors dominate but look for a mocha treat as it is released in the mouth.


Lunch? Of course! We brought along some spicy sausage, hummus with red peppers, a hard goat’s milk cheese, and a baguette. Considering our different palates and the spicy edge of our lunch items, we all agreed on the 2005 Rubiana. A blend of Nebbiolo, Fer Servadou, Graciano, and Tempranillo, the 2005 Rubiana was the perfect fruit-driven red wine to enjoy with lunch. We must add that tasting room manager, Ron Camp, was extremely accommodating and set us up with a table and chairs in the barrel room. It was raining quite heavily by lunch time, and the respite from the downpour was most appreciated. Get out to Chrysalis Vineyards to taste the new releases and tell Ron and the others that Virginia Wine Time sent you!