Las Piletas Bonarda, Santa Rosa, Argentina 2017 (£9.95, The Wine Society) The one downside to the success story of Argentinian malbec is that it has rather overshadowed the country’s many other vinous delights. Among them is bonarda, a red grape variety that was in fact predictably disappointing until very recently, but is now being taken more seriously by some of the country’s most talented growers with deliciously distinctive results. Once assumed to be the grape of the same name grown in Piedmont in northwest Italy, bonarda turns out to be an Argentinian pen name for douce noir from Savoie in Alpine eastern France. Curiously, however, the way growers such as Matías Riccitelli and Sebastian Zuccardi deal with it brings a decidedly Italianate mix of inky colour and cherry-berry-ish succulence. Zuccardi’s vivid Las Piletas is a supple, refreshing, valpolicella-like bargain; Ricchitelli The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree Bonarda 2016 (£18.99, Great Wines Direct), is deep and spicy.
Mendel Semillon, Mendoza, Argentina 2016 (from £12.95, The Wine Society; Latin Wines Online; Ministry of Drinks) Riccitelli, one of Argentina’s best young winemakers, also makes a very convincing, savoury dry white mouthful from a variety that I’ve not hitherto considered as one of the country’s strengths, semillon. A key component of white Bordeaux wines – dry and sweet – semillon has clearly been around in Argentina for years, since the awesome, nervy but mouthfilling Riccitelli Old Vines From Patagonia Semillon 2016 (£30.56, Corking Wines) and the lighter, prettier Mendel Semillon, with its graceful herbs and blossomy honey, both owe their depth and balance to vines that are well in excess of 50 years of age. Semillon also plays a part in another of my favourite Argentinian whites, Susana Balbo Signature White Blend 2015 (£14.65, The Whisky Exchange), blended with the aromatic sauvignon blanc and Argentina’s very own hyacinth-scented torrontés for a fragrant but grapefruit racy spicy stir-fry partner.
Achaval Ferrer Quimera, Mendoza, Argentina 2013 (£28.29, Corney & Barrow) When malbec was part of the furniture in Bordeaux (it’s rarely planted there these days) it was almost always used as a part of a blend. And, while Argentinians have made their name by making solo bottlings from the variety they’re increasingly finding that it can be equally fine – if not more complex – when it’s joined with other grape varieties. The ever-reliable Viñalba label has shown it can combine beautifully with the Portuguese grape touriga nacional (rarely found in Argentina) in Viñalba Malbec-Touriga Nacional, Mendoza 2015 (from £9.99, Majestic), a rich red wine that tastes of perfectly ripe fruits of the forest and smells of violets. Achaval Ferrer, meanwhile, hark back to the French classic region for the gorgeous interplay of red and black fruit, minerals, and wild herbs in a blend of malbec with four other Bordeaux varieties: cabernets sauvignon and franc, merlot and petit verdot.
Follow David on Twitter @Daveydaibach
