Most critics do taste blind. A notable exception being Robert Parker.I'm sure the evals are all based on completely unbiased, double blind comparisons!!
......not.
Most critics do taste blind. A notable exception being Robert Parker.I'm sure the evals are all based on completely unbiased, double blind comparisons!!
......not.
I don't ignore them entirely for two reasons.That's what I'd heard - Parker doesn't taste blind; I completely ignore his evaluations. Glad to hear he's the exception.
[parker]...Because his preferred style of wine doesn't appeal to me. I find it overextracted, overripe, overoaked.
... review ...but not very ripe, or concentrated, or developed
I am sure that helps. But I also prefer finesse over power in lots of things. So I think it goes deeper than that. Even with skiing, I sometimes have to be reminded to use my size and strength to my advantage at times.I refer to that as the power vs finesse axis. Or more colloquially, Mike wines vs Tony wines.
I wonder if your preferences are because you are a "super taster". I don't deny it takes a bit of extra loudness to get through to me.
Valle de Uco is a fascinating place. High up off of the valley floor. Great terroir for wine grapes, imho. Many of the wineries up there are a little precious and pretentious. But great place to grow grapes. I was fascinated to find myself on a sidewalk in a small town listening to two men conversing and then realizing . . . they aren't speaking Spanish, they are speaking Italian! Turns out it is very common. Like French in Louisiana or Norwegian in Northern Minnesota because the area was settled extensively by Italians in the 18th century.I tried this 2019 Cab from Argentina, it is very smooth and I didn't get any after bite.
View attachment 128860
The bottle was under $15.00 is that pretentious?Valle de Uco is a fascinating place. High up off of the valley floor. Great terroir for wine grapes, imho. Many of the wineries up there are a little precious and pretentious. But great place to grow grapes. I was fascinated to find myself on a sidewalk in a small town listening to two men conversing and then realizing . . . they aren't speaking Spanish, they are speaking Italian! Turns out it is very common. Like French in Louisiana or Norwegian in Northern Minnesota because the area was settled extensively by Italians in the 18th century.
Important distinction: Most of the WINERIES up there are a little precious and pretentious. By this I mean grand architecture, ambitious pricing , pretentious tasting experience. But there are lots of wines made from Uco Valley grapes that are not expensive (many of which are made in wineries in the Mendoza area). This is kind of like a winery in Lodi making wine from Russian River grapes for example. Not as uncommon as you might think, but more common in Argentina because the Uco Valley has long grown grapes but has only recently been developed as a "premium winegrowing region".The bottle was under $15.00 is that pretentious?
Thanks for sharing all the info on this wine region. I just found it by luck and will have to get more of this wine. A friend had talked about skiing Barriloche and it has been a long time since I skied with him. I wonder if he ever got there. Good luck going there, is it a bucket list ski location?Important distinction: Most of the WINERIES up there are a little precious and pretentious. By this I mean grand architecture, ambitious pricing , pretentious tasting experience. But there are lots of wines made from Uco Valley grapes that are not expensive (many of which are made in wineries in the Mendoza area). This is kind of like a winery in Lodi making wine from Russian River grapes for example. Not as uncommon as you might think, but more common in Argentina because the Uco Valley has long grown grapes but has only recently been developed as a "premium winegrowing region".
Bousquet is probably the largest winery in Uco Valley and is French owned. And, although that might lead you to expect pretense, French investments in Chile and Argentina have mostly been exactly the opposite-predicated on value and volume. So, Bousquet is a bit of an outlier for Uco Valley. Most of the big wineries are down in Mendoza.
Tagging @Mendieta here because he may have a relevant perspective, although I believe he is from the opposite side of what is, after all, a very large country.
BTW, it has been a dream of mine ever since going there to return in (our) summer and stop in Uco on my way to ski Barriloche . . .
Important distinction: Most of the WINERIES up there are a little precious and pretentious. By this I mean grand architecture, ambitious pricing , pretentious tasting experience. But there are lots of wines made from Uco Valley grapes that are not expensive (many of which are made in wineries in the Mendoza area). This is kind of like a winery in Lodi making wine from Russian River grapes for example. Not as uncommon as you might think, but more common in Argentina because the Uco Valley has long grown grapes but has only recently been developed as a "premium winegrowing region".
Bousquet is probably the largest winery in Uco Valley and is French owned. And, although that might lead you to expect pretense, French investments in Chile and Argentina have mostly been exactly the opposite-predicated on value and volume. So, Bousquet is a bit of an outlier for Uco Valley. Most of the big wineries are down in Mendoza.
Tagging @Mendieta here because he may have a relevant perspective, although I believe he is from the opposite side of what is, after all, a very large country.
BTW, it has been a dream of mine ever since going there to return in (our) summer and stop in Uco on my way to ski Barriloche . . .
Despite Argentine wine's aspirations, and despite the absurd investment laws which hold wineries back, Argentina remains my go to for value. At all price points. Susana Balbo makes a bordeaux blend that, at $50-something is still one of the best wines for the money I've ever had. The Lurton's Valle de Uco project is stellar too. Ruitini and Ferrer are great too. Bodegas Norton used to be too, haven't had in awhile . . .That's a shared dream my friend. It is predicated on Mrs Mendieta growing and appreciation of snow and wine
I think the rule of thumb for visiting wineries in Mendoza are similar as in Napa. Avoid the big places with people coming off of buses into large tasting rooms. Find a small producer if you can and talk to real people. Even when I was a kid there were tour style winery visits. No good. Also, as a kid, I really liked cheap wine (kidding, kidding)
Some of the top wines from Argentina did get pretty snobby, at least in terms of price point. The Uco region is characteristic of that.
Of the big producers that can be found here, both Rutini (not the Trumpeter line but their first label, "Ruitini") and Achaval Ferrer are my favorites. (though the latter can get really pricey). I like my wines at a price point that doesn't seem to beg for lobsterr olls for the kids' lunch.
And, about the French producers in Arg/Chile, Spot on, @skibob , as always. Close de los Siete has been producing a consistent bordeaux blend for under $20. It's sold all over the place, definitely not a boutique production. And, like most Argie reds, best at about 10+ years of age.
Juan Gil and Jorge Ordonez (Borsao) are both modern negociants in the best sense of the word. They do a real nice job of contracting winemaking for their brands and putting blends together. Great value there.In these covid times we have given up on recreational wine shopping, so our drinking has a lot more repetition in it. Our new standards are Laya grenache/monestrail from Juan GIl in Spain, Boneshaker Zinfandel from Lodi, and this, Tres Picos grenache also from Spain.
(The Zin is actually a bit more jammy than my favorite zin style, but its not bad.)
View attachment 128994
I always wonder if houses like that have been negociants all along, or if they started as winemakers and grew into it by bringing their neighbor's wines along as the breadth of their distribution grew. (Doesn't really matter, just curiosity.) The variety of offerings from Juan Gil that we see locally has grown rapidly in the last few years (at least it did when I was still shopping in person).Juan Gil and Jorge Ordonez (Borsao) are both modern negociants in the best sense of the word. They do a real nice job of contracting winemaking for their brands and putting blends together. Great value there.
There are a lot of French producers that started that way--Jadot, Drouhin, Dubouef, etc.I always wonder if houses like that have been negociants all along, or if they started as winemakers and grew into it by bringing their neighbor's wines along as the breadth of their distribution grew. (Doesn't really matter, just curiosity.) The variety of offerings from Juan Gil that we see locally has grown rapidly in the last few years (at least it did when I was still shopping in person).
There are a few California makers where I have similarly wondered if they own all their labels or they are really a trade association -- unfortunately I can't think of any names at the moment.