2009 Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes 11.99

Bored with matching solid and liquid pleasure, Food & Wine magazine leaped into more ethereal pairings: wine and flowers from high-style florists. 

Try to guess what wine inspired San Francisco Studio Choo, (not the shoe Choos) to assemble a rustic smellathon of “honeysuckle, jasmine and roses loosely gathered with sage, apricots and thyme.”

Pretty lovely eh?

Correct answer: The 2009 Crios Torrontes from Susana Balbo (92SS, $11.99).  I agree, the scents are there and Torrontes is a charmer with more aroma than grapefruit. They do last longer in the arrangement than in an open bottle at my house.

For another, Holly Flora of LA put together peonies, lilacs and irisis with mint and basil. This was to compliment Hugel’s 2007 Alsatian Gewurztraminer. Good idea, but you can get as many flowers and herbs from Hugel’s Gentil ($7.99) , a ripe 2006 blend of Gewurz, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat and more. At a price to match a supermarket bundle of fresh flowers.

2008 Achaval Ferrer Malbec (Mendoza) $19.99

“I was extremely impressed with this Mendoza youngin’ for its silky smooth texture, intense minerality and excellent depth. This 2008 Malbec spent 9 months in French oak before bottling without fining or filtration. Produced from Malbec sourced from vineyards located in Mayor Drummond, La Consulta and Medrano (sub-zones of Mendoza), this blend of distinctive terroirs is just one element of detail that distinguishes Achaval Ferrer’s Malbec from others. Deep purple with a bouquet of violets and savory flavors of black cherry, fig, spice and plum. Ideal wine for steak night!”

91 Points, Shannon Sprentall
Staff Selection, June 2010

- 91 Points, Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate
- 91 Points, The Wine Spectator

2007 Susana Balbo Signature Malbec $19.99

She’s a favorite of mine for both the Crios line and her grander bottles so I wasn‘t surprised when New York Times wine critic, Eric Asimov, tasted through Argentina’s malbecs, he gave props to hers as Best Value.

He tasted ten, half of them at $35 to $50; only two merited three stars.

Balbo’s 2007 Mendoza Signature, which he called “clean and fresh with flavors of dark fruit, spices and licorice” merited 2.5 stars.

The price that made it a bargain to Asimov was $23.

That’s New York.  Come to B-21 in little ol’ Tarpon and that bottle is only $19.99.

- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler

At our house it depends on fresh tomatoes. We usually have colossal shrimp in the freezer from Bama Seafood (don’t miss the sales when their shrimp comes in) and Dixie Lily grits in the pantry. Saute onions and garlic with Provence or Italian spices. Add tomatoes and shrimp heads and cook down. Remove heads (and pick their meat if you want), add chopped spinach leaves and shrimp. Cook a few minutes, just until spinach wilts and shrimp cook through.

2008 Alamos Torrontes $7.99

The key is that the sauce taste fresh not like a sausage sandwich or pizza, and the sweetness of shrimp remains.

The usual wine pairing is a light red, but I chose an Argentine torrontes.

This is not showoff obscurantism. At $7.99 you could make this fragrant lovely your go-to refrigerator white. That price is for the torrontes from Alamos, a value label from the great Catenas and it’s a surprisingly good introduction to the grape, full of peaches and flowers in the nose a friendly citrus on the tongue, more oranges and melons than grapefruit. But a round texture and a lively acid finish. Only 13% alcohol. Sends most sauv blanc and chard to Dullsville.

If this is not the year of torrontes, it’s at least the summer of this flirtatious grape. Get to know it.

- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler

2007 Achaval Ferrer Finca Mirador $99.99

As a warm up to this year’s Masters at Augusta National, defending champion Argentina’s  Angel Cabrera hosted the dinner for former champs and proved a master of wine too.

According to an excited email we received from our good friend Manuel Ferrer, Cabrera called up one of his country’s finest, the 2007 Achaval Ferrer from Finca Mirador, a big and rich high scorer. It matched an equally Argentine – and quite a meaty menu of ceviche chorizo and morcilla, empanadas and ribeye with mashed potatoes and malbec demi glace.

The Mirador ($99.99) is one of the top efforts of Achaval Ferrer, the young Argentine Italian partnership, making elegant wine frsom low-growth old vines in the Andes foothills. It scored 94 on Mr. Parker’s scorecard.

Next year’s host of course is Phil Mickelson. Picking a wine should not be hard. He’s won the honor twice before and he’s a Californian. Granted his patch of California is San Diego County where the vineyards aren’t yet tournament champs. But he could strike a blow for non-Napa vineyards and stay closer to home with something from Santas Barbara, Maria, Rita and Ynez. How about the 2005 El Corazon de Jonata, a syrah/cab blend of nifty Santa Ynez complexity from Jonata’s Matt Dees (he played on the courses at Staglin and Craggy Range).

 FORE!

- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler

Shannon Sprentall and Laura Catena, Proprietor of Luca Vineyards and daughter of Nicolas Catena.

Argentina was quite an adventure thanks to a fearless tour guide who led the way to meaty meals, scrumptious wine and quality company.  One of the best “work” trips I have ever been on!  Here are the highlights of my Argentina trip 2010:

Jan. 30th – Leave USA for ARG
Jan. 31st – Buenos Aires, lunch, sightseeing, dinner
Feb. 1st – Leave for Mendoza (2 hour flight) – check in, visit Mendel, dinner at 9 with Mapema
Feb. 2nd – Mendoza – Paulucci, Pizzella, Laborde & Tikal vineyards –  1884 (world acclaimed restaurant in Mendoza, at Catena winery)
Feb. 4th – Mendoza/Agrelo – Dominio del Plata (Crios, Ben Marco, etc…), dinner with Susana Balbo
Feb. 5th – Tikal day 

Click here to see more pictures from my trip!

2008 Norton Cosecha Tardia Chardonnay Dulce Natural $6.99

Found a great little treat from big ol’ Bodega Norton, a honey of a late harvest chardonnay.

That’s right. Like all big operations Norton’s grand portfolio includes surprise rarities even a bonarda and a merlot rosé as well as the familiar staples and trophy wines.  In this case I spied the “Cosecha Tardia” and thought “late”- something first.

This is a fine white from Norton, with flavors of honeysuckle, melon and pear, even coconut, but it’s not a thick sweet pudding. Creamy of course yet not heavy, well balanced and low in alcohol (under 12 percent). Almost as if a German winemaker made chard as a spatlese.

Cosecha Tardia could go with any light meal, but I’d rather have it alone with a big cheese, ideally something bleu. Only $6.99.

- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler

This night the pasta was husky rigatoni tubes (sneer not at dry pasta, imported artisan brands are worth an extra buck) with a frozen sauce holstered with fresh ground beef, and larded with ricotta salata cheese.  Hearty and rustic as a dish from Puglia or Sicily. 

The wine of course was malbec but with more than the usual French accent. In addition to the grape’s Bordeaux roots this malbec is from Monteviejo, the Andean sister of Chateau Le Gay in Pomerol, with the assistance of Michel Rolland.

2008 Festivo Malbec by Monteviejo (Mendoza) $12.99

This label, the 2008 Festivo, $12.99, is a stylish example of malbec, with plum and black cherry flavors and spices, to stand up to rigatoni and ricotta, and the elegance to tame them down.

This is not rough and ready pizza wine, but a clean wine of medium finish that would go just as well with a delicate filet mignon or a full parillada.

Having just been thrilled with the Petite Fleur from Monteviejo, I’m eager to try all I  can from this Franco-Argentine winery and look forward to meeting Catherine Pere-Verge when she arrives with the Bordeaux entourage April 18. You should too.

- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler

2007 Susana Balbo Signature Malbec (Mendoza) 19.99

You know malbec, the black presence in Bordeaux blends, the grape of Bergerac, Cahors, and most notably Argentina.

But you don’t know how noble this wine is until you’ve had Susana Balbo’s Signature Malbec.

Balbo is best known for her hand-made Crios varietals, which are exceptionally crisp and classy for $12.99, which is all the more reason to taste what another $8 buys.

The 2007 Signature Malbec ($19.99) shows the grape at its best, juicy earthy flavors in a an elegant package. There are lots of blackberries and whiffs of vanilla, dark chocolate and smoke. It’s a plumy and rich drink but more civilized than a fruit bomb.

Balbo used 10% cabernet sauvignon to add structure, but the malbec is the polished star. You must try it if you want to understand the variety, Bordeaux blends or Argentina. Or if you want to meet a great pioneer among women winemakers.

B-21′s very own Andes Adventurer, Shannon Sprentall had the chance to visit and taste with Susana Balbo on her trip to Argentina in February.  Click here to see pictures from her trip.

- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler

2007 Colome Malbec Mendoza (Argentina) - A Top 100 Wine from Wine Spectator too! - $24.99

“The estate’s 250 acres of vines from old French cuttings hold the claim of being some of the highest altitude vineyards in the world, with the highest being a staggering 9891 feet above sea level. Bodegas Colomé farms some of the oldest vines in Argentina estimated about 150-year old pre-phylloxera. As if ancient vines and near alpine conditions weren’t enough to distinguish their grapes, Bodegas Colomé also farms their vineyards biodynamically. As for the wine itself, I love its sophisticated nose of black fruit, lavender, violets and spice. French oak is beautifully integrated extracting amazing toasty flavors as well. The balance is very well done.” 

93 Points, Shannon Sprentall
Staff Selection, April 2010