Amazing Argentina - Explore the wines of Argentina

 

The UK has been in a lust filled, tango dancing love affair with Argentinean Malbec for a while now. After the Falklands and Jeremy Clarkson’s unique style of diplomacy in his later years at Top Gear, it would have been no surprise if trading between our two great nations seized to exist. Time moves on and our shared passion for mad, daft political leaders, rampant inflation, silky footballers and Malbec has helped restore common ground.

EVERYBODY IS TALKING ABOUT MALBEC

I can’t think of another wine producing country that is so synonymous with just one grape variety. More often than not, when we discuss Argentinean Wine, we just talk about Argentinean Malbec. Maybe Germany and Riesling, but let’s be honest, nobody is talking about German Riesling and those that are, need to put a sock in it, so it remains unpopular and well-priced for those of us that want to drink it!

Argentinean Malbec has been quite the phenomenon over the past decade or so, but popularity does come at a cost.

 

When a region or grape variety becomes popular, especially one that can produce large amounts of wine, there is always a race to the bottom. I think it would be fair to say, that the popularity of the grape has fuelled the desire for larger producers to make and supply Malbec as cheaply as possible. These wines nearly always lose the essence of the grape variety. They lose all the qualities that made the grape so loved. You’re left drinking red wine, not Malbec. This leads to a negative view of the grape variety and can discourage us from buying more premium versions. It takes us away from talking about all the factors that contribute to the huge variety of styles available from Argentina. From the massive regional differences between Patagonia and Mendoza, the differences within the sub regions of Mendoza, the varying altitude of the vineyards, the oak regime of the producers to the actual wine maker themselves. When we talk about Argentinean Malbec, these are the things we should be talking about rather than lumping them together under one brand of weedy, oak chipped nonsense that I can assure you, does not go with steak.

NOT JUST MALBEC

It is also all too easy to miss everything else that Argentina does so well. The quality of Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bonarda along with a host of other varieties is off the charts just now and is there to be discovered and enjoyed. There are some gems and like all other wine producing countries there is choice and variety. Maybe it is time to look beyond Malbec.

Browse our Argentinian wines HERE