© by Nigel Lelew • This Month Hi Ellie ... you know last time I was in we took a peek into the crystal ball and tried to see where the next wine trends were coming from and what they'd be ... well this month its time to hop into the Delta Radio Lear Jet for a bit of a long haul as we go to one of the countries that I said was going to be an 'up-and-coming' ... So we're off to Argentina this month to try and discover what makes their wine industry tick. So if you'd all like to pay attention, I'll run through the pre-flight safety demo! Argentina We've given the game away now, but if I said that I was going to take a look at one of the world's top ten wine producers, you'd think that I was going to talk about Spain maybe, South Africa perhaps, possibly even Bulgaria or Chile, but no ... you'd be wrong. Its true, Argentina is one of the world's top producers of wine, so why haven't we seen more of them. let's find out. Argentina was part of the Spanish conquest of South America. With the Spanish language came the introduction of winemaking sometime in the late 16th century. So in fact Argentina has been making wine for over 500 years, so it's no newcomer! When I say that Argentina is in the world's top ten wine producers, I don't mean they just scraped in at number ten. Actually they are around 5th or 6th position, depending on how you do the bean counting! So if it does rank as highly as that, why don't you see bottle upon bottle of Argentinean wine as you browse the shelves. Well, the reason is that up until now they have produced wine for their own domestic market and a slightly wider population in South America. Their wines have tended to be musty, tired and rather stale. The real driver in looking for somewhere else to sell their wines is that their domestic market is declining. So Argentina is now just waking up to the possibilities that the European wine market gives them, to a large extent following their neighbour Chile ... and hoping to have the same kind of success. Argentina is very slowly understanding that it has huge potential to offer the wine world outside the confines of South America. The drive for fruit flavours in the wines is something that Argentina is very capable of producing. The only drawback seems to be the level of investment needed to kit the wineries out with stainless steel and all the cooling equipment that the cool fermentation process demands. But as I say, it's now starting to happen ... slowly, but nevertheless it is happening. During the 1990's Argentina started the investment needed. It also looked to some of the flying winemakers to bring the experience of the new techniques to the home industry. The results are starting to shine through, though at the moment you may still have to hunt to find an Argentinean label on the wine shelves. All the major International grape varieties are present and correct. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, they're all there, but where I think Argentina will really shine is by taking some of the second and third string grapes, like the Italian Sangiovese and a grape that it's quickly making its own ... Malbec. The words Argentina and Malbec are starting to have the same word association that Australia and Shiraz or South Africa and Chenin Blanc have. Argentina is embracing the black Malbec grape as its own. In time it will establish itself as the signature grape of Argentina. It may not have the same ring to the word that Chardonnay has, but believe me, we'll be hearing quite enough of Malbec in the coming years ... watch this space! So Argentina has a lot to look forward to. We're going to see an increase in the amount of Argentinean wines available on the shelves, though competition will be very stiff. So to make an impact the wines will be at the lower end of the price range ... at least to start with! The Tasting So let's take a look at a couple of wines from Argentina ... from the land of the Gauchos riding around the plains looking after their herds of cattle, huge tender steaks, cooked over the barbecue ... I can't wait to try their reds. But first, let's have a go at the white that I've brought along this morning. I said that all the International grape varieties were here in Argentina, and the white is a blend of two of those. Its Co-ops 1998 Argentine Sauvignon Chenin. Its a blend then of two traditionally steely dry white grape varieties, Sauvignon Blanc, the king of the Loire valley and New Zealand and Chenin Blanc, one of the major grapes behing South Africa's wine industry. So here we go ... Colour In the glass the wine is a mid straw colour ... clear and bright ... Aroma Get the nose in ... there's some typical Chenin and Sauvignon aromas in there ... there's fresh melon and pineapple fruit, with the promise of a clean dry taste in the mouth ... Taste there's a deep richness in the mouth ... now with the grapes in here I expected a sharp edge to the taste ... but actually what's there is a wonderfully rounded, smooth mouthful of warmth ... subtle melon and pineapple from the aroma with a hint of acidity on the finish, but that's good ... it balances the smooth taste at the beginning. there's length to the taste as well ... I think that's a great white. So that was Co-op's 1998 Argentine Sauvignon Chenin and let me let you into a secret, until 12th March this wine is reduced from £3.99 to £2.99 ... so that's a great bottle of tropical fruit flavours for under 3 quid! OK, now for the red. Rather than bring a Malbec, the red that's beginning to become the signature grape of Argentina, I've decided to bring along a brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon ... its a 1996 Valentin Bianchi Cabernet Sauvignon ... so let's take a look at this one ... Colour Just look at this wine in the glass ... just like you'd imagine a Cabernet ... a deep red with a density that doesn't allow you to see the other side of the glass. As this is a 1996 vintage, the sometimes purpley vibrancy to the colour of really fresh Cabernet has been tamed to this deep dark red. Aroma OK give the glass a swirl and then get the nose in ... pure blackcurrant and mint ... a wonderful introduction to the taste ... Taste There's blackcurrant fruit in there, but there's also something else ... a more aromatic taste something like cherry ... and the mint is there from the oak ... and the great thing for me is roundness of the tannins ... they aren't harsh ... they're smooth and approachable ... That's 1996 Valentin Bianchi Cabernet Sauvignon from the Co-op and again until the middle of March, its reduced by a pound to £6.99. that's a great wine, and something a little different from the usual run-of-the-mill Cabernet with that aromatic cherry taste in there as well. • Next Month Next month Ellie, we're going to be looking at vegetarian and organic wines. Its a sector of the market where there's a growing demand ... It used to be a mystery to me where animal products came into wine ... but all will be revealed next month ... so until then ... goodbye! If you prefer red wine, then the Co-op has an Argentinean star! Bianchi 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon is a deep red with a whole mouthful bursting with blackcurrant. The ever-present Cabernet Sauvignon tannins are smooth and complement the soft oaky flavours. Until the middle of March the Co-op have taken £1 off this wine to £6.99 and its worth every penny.
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