Having spent 6 weeks in South America, escorting seven groups on tours to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, Tim was full of news from this exciting continent.
Uruguay was a bit of a star of the show, with the single vineyard Albariño from Bodegas Garzon tasting superb, and the Marselan and Cabernet Franc Reserves from the same producer showing there is far more to the country than Tannat. Tim’s tours included visits to Bodega Garzon, in the Maldonado region of Uruguay and it sounded fabulous – read the blog to find out more!
The Argentinian wines we tasted showcased the extremes in latitude, the Otronia Chardonnay from Patagonia separated by 1,500 miles and nearly 20 degrees of latitude from the Malbec from Bodegas Colomé in Salta. Both were of extremely high quality, despite the extreme conditions in which they are grown.
Argentina also came up trumps with a super Pinot Grigio from Mendoza – far more fruit and interest than your regular northern Italian PG, a deep coloured, complex flavoured Petit Verdot from Mendoza and a lovely fruit driven Cabernet Franc from the Colchagua Valley. Chile’s only representative shone – the Zapallar Pinot Noir from coastal Aconcagua (north of Santiago) was a knock out, Burgundy quality but not Burgundy prices.
A top evening each night, assisted as always by the teams at St Mary’s in Teddington and the Britannia in Richmond.
For details of the wines, please visit the Wines we have tasted page.
