WTN: Spoofy Argentineans + good Morellino + corked grrrr!

A mostly spoofy weekend (the Morellino wasn't, though, and I really liked it!) celebrating the 70th birthday of Robert M. Whiting, a great Assyriologist and perhaps the most inspiring university lecturer that I have had the pleasure of having been taught by.

• 2005 Finca y Bodega Carlos Pulenta Malbec Tomero - Argentina, Mendoza (9/20/2009)
  14% abv. When I last tasted this I noticed too much vanillary oak - a year more has pretty well made that disappear (which I am very glad about). It is almost jammy in sweetness but does have some savoury/meaty/damp earth scent to counter it. As sweet on the palate as I expected from the scent, but it also has fair structure - but the structure is more like a frame that keeps the fruit within certain parameters than a backbone that would actually keep it upright. A big social event in a stuffy room, so the wine was too warm and hence showed a bit of alcohol. Decent QPR and very good interest level for such a foodless, cocktailish event - I don't think I would open one at home.
  
• 2004 Finca y Bodega Carlos Pulenta Corte B Vistalba - Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo, Vistalba (9/18/2009)
  14,5% abv; 20,20€; 57% Malbec; 30% Cab Sauvignon; 13% Bonarda; 12 months in 100% new French oak. Purple, undeveloped colour. The scent is meaty and very jammy - amazingly the oak isn't what bothers me in this wine though I am usually oversensitive to it. Rather it is the sheer ripeness and jammyness that result in such a thickness that it is difficult to drink despite some savoury character that theoretically should counter the sweetness. Sweet and rich, with decent acidity and tannins, but still it seems ponderous. Rather alcoholic on the finish. I can very well see why many like this, but it was a bit much for me.
  
• 2006 Fattoria Le Pupille (Elisabetta Geppetti) Morellino di Scansano - Italy, Tuscany, Maremma, Morellino di Scansano (9/18/2009)
  13,5% abv; Sangiovese with a bit of Alicante and Malvasia Nera. A very enjoyable wine! The only thing I didn't like about it was the plastic stopper instead of some better seal like a screwcap - i.e. no point ageing this though I thought from this bottle that it might age very well over the next couple years. But to the wine itself: a bright, cherry aroma, lifted and savoury despite showing the ripeness of the warm region within Tuscany. This has crunchy tannins and juicy acidity and ripe fruit - but gladly no oak or over-ripeness that I can see. Refreshing finish. Moreish and very nice!
  

Posted from CellarTracker

I also tried to enjoy a Texier* CdRhone '06 but it was corked. I have had massively bad luck with the wine with about half of them corked and the other half absolutely enchantingly good. Anyone else have problems with it?

Had two Texier CdR's recently and both were fine...

The Le Pupille Morellino was my "house wine" for a few years until they seemed to hit a rough patch in the early 00s; glad to hear it's back in form.

Your report on the Pulentas saddened me. My interest in Argentine wine has been on the decline lately, but I read reports that Pulenta is a maverick who is bucking the trend, so I was hoping he could do something to revive my interest.

Marcia and I are spending the first week of November in Piemonte and, thanks to your report, I made an appointment at Massolino. Hope to try that 01 Vigna Rionda!

Your report on the Pulentas saddened me. My interest in Argentine wine has been on the decline lately, but I read reports that Pulenta is a maverick who is bucking the trend, so I was hoping he could do something to revive my interest.

Marcia and I are spending the first week of November in Piemonte and, thanks to your report, I made an appointment at Massolino. Hope to try that 01 Vigna Rionda!

I hope that you will report here if you do try the Pulenta range. I think they are doing something different - they don't taste like the other Malbecs we have available here. But they are rather heavy and rich for me.

I hope you will enjoy Massolino as much as I did when he was visiting here.