One recent bright evening in San Francisco, The Lady and I had the opportunity to head below the border, as in below the Equator…to Argentina! A new wine label is set to drop on our half of the Earth called Espiritu de Argentina. Combining the efforts of the US-based Cecchetti Racke, Espiritu de Chile and Argentine winery Bodega Monte Real, it will feature a full line of affordable and Argentine wines. Lady and I met in front of the resto Destino, where we would have the lucky opportunity of getting a sneak peak at these quaffable wines paired with a one-time 7 course small plates meal, all courtesy of Balzac Communications.
Destino: Nuevo Latino Bistro is the brainchild and unique tasty destination restaurant by Owner and Executive Chef James Schenk. It’s really two spots in one, with a full wall separating Pisco Latin Lounge and the other a full service restaurant and wine bar. I found the cuisine to be rather unique, with many a fresh take on Latin cuisine or with an unusual flavor pairing hitting the mark with every course. James was clearly engaged in the event, pacing in the background at times as his servers brought out a new pairing. Each one was eventually met with a warm and pleased smile however, as each dish brought new cherry murmurs to the table.
We arrived just in time to grab a glass of Domaine Chandon North Coast Pinot Noir Reserve Brut Rosé that Kathy Whaley (Twitter) of Cacchetti Racke was pouring to awaken everyone’s palate. This bubbly, a really good domestic effort with great acidity and fuller, creamy qualities, was a hit and really started the night on a upbeat note. Joining us that night were all three Brix Chicks Liza (Twitter), Xandria (Twitter) and Nesta (Twitter), all in effect. Luscious Lush Thea (Twitter) was also there, as well as Jason Mancebo (Twitter) of 20 Dollar Wine.
We trundled into the other half of the Latin food and wine duo and settled into our seats, just in time for Bodega Monte Real and Espiritu de Argentina winemaker, Luis Villarreal to have a surprise bottle of vino poured for our starters. The ’09 Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Malbec Rosé is quite possibly the first rosé that I’ve ever tasted that was made entirely of Malbec. I found it to be solid effort, slightly sweet, but with good zesty citrus peel and strawberry to balance that mild sugar. While discussing this just bottle wine and his efforts to bring it over on the plane, I got a chance to study Luis. He is a stout and well-balanced man, who is very well spoken and seemingly quietly passionate about all of his wines. I discovered throughout the evening however, that his passion for Argentine wine runs deep and once started, he will show that fiery passion in his discussions about his home region.
Now it’s time to dive into the wine pairings and menu! I’m going to bullet-point the fine, tastily extravagant meal for the 6 courses that we enjoyed (we had to leave before dessert).
– Scallop Tiradito: ’08 Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Torrontés
– This is the signature white varietal of Mendoza and Argentina and I found that it had a wonderful floral nose that a Viognier lover would enjoy. The palate was tropical and crisp with great fruit and acid.
-Roasted Apple Quinoa Salad: ’08 Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Chardonnay
– A beautiful pairing, the lemon zest and chayote matched the spicy Meyer lemon in this zesty version of this varietal. This is also a great sipper!
– Chicken Chorizo: ’07 Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Shiraz
– Another great pairing, the plummy, fruit forward type of Shiraz balances the hearty spices in the *outstanding* chimichurri that was also included as an item in our gift bags…YUM! Made by interuppcion fair trade, it is made sustainably and socially responsibly right in Mendoza!
– Slow Braised Pork Belly: ’07 Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Bonarda
– This Bonarda was very interesting and again, a phenomenal value. It was tied for my favorite wine of the night, along with the Torrontés. It has beautiful violets and roses on the nose with charred, earthy blackberry. The palate has the same great fruit alongside some great black pepper in the long finish. Ten bucks? You’ve got to be kidding me!
– Ox-Tail Empanada: ’07 Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Malbec
– My favorite dish of the night was paired with the trademark varietal for Mendoza, Malbec. Florals here as well, the earthy nose was different from the more fruit-forward palate that had great acidity to pair with the savory, mildly spicy empanada with a Malbec reduction…I stole the rest of the Lady’s as she chatted with Luis!
– Grilled Swordfish: ’06 Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Malbec Reserva
– The final dish of the night was perfectly prepared and clearly a very fresh steak of swordfish with wonderful texture. The Reserva features a lot more oak and I’d say this one should be laid down for a couple years before revisiting this powerful wine, featuring both red and black fruit on the chewy palate. This was a risky pairing, but one that was a slam dunk, between the toasty oak in the wine and the grilled char on the fish. Tasty.
Overall I couldn’t help but be completely impressed by the value and QPR found in these wines. All of these, aside from the slightly more expensive Reserva will retail at $10 here in the US upon release. While fruit forward, they also feature great acidity, generally tamed and oak that balances the rest of the components in these food-friendly wines. James and his creations at Destino convinced me that Latin food is certainly an innovative and fresh cuisine that continues to be successfully reinvented. I’d like to thank Monica, Kathy, Luis, James and everyone else from Espiritu De Argentina, Cecchetti Racke, Balzac and Destino who provided the dinner and wines that night
Dive in and check out the full reviews of all of the wines from Luis and Espiritu de Argentina that we had that tasty night, with the links below. If you would like to list these wines in your own WineLog, they are all tagged with “Espiritu2009Destino“. All of my pictures from that night are on my Flickr, and grouped in a set, as well as on my Facebook. Enjoy!
Starter:
Domaine Chandon North Coast Pinot Noir Reserve Brut Rosé NV
Espiritu de Argentina:
Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Malbec Rosé 2009
Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Torrontés 2008
Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Chardonnay 2008
Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Shiraz 2007
Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Bonarda 2007
Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Malbec 2007
Espiritu de Argentina Mendoza Reserva Malbec 2006
I attend a large number wine events. That might even be an understatement, to which my fine readers can attest! Thus, I feel that it’s saying something to describe an upcoming wine event as one of my favorite series of wine events, ever. The San Francisco Vintners Market (Twitter, Facebook, WineLog) wine tastings are those exact events: totally fun, onsite wine purchasing available, and of course, fantastic wines to taste in unlimited amounts. And lucky readers, for round 5 (DING) of the #SFVM, I now have a fat discount so you cats can partake!
One reason, besides the many that I just poured out above, that I love these events so much is the number of new wineries that I discover each time we attend. We always get the VIP tickets in order to get access to the Reserve Room, where we taste bottles of wine that most normal humans can never afford (without the event discounts to buy onsite, of course 😉 ). One great discovery that we’ve made has been the small family winery Sciandri Family Vineyards (Twitter, Facebook, WineLog), they of the newly formed Coombsville AVA in southern Napa Valley. Big, but balanced Cabs come out of this producer, as does some big and warm, family hospitality.
All of this doesn’t even include the awesome gourmet bites and sponsors that you can also check out, while swirling some good stuff around in your keepsake logo glass. Lastly, get your learn on and chat with some of the many winemakers that are actually in attendance and pouring their work, a rarity for events of this size. So join us next month, at the next SF Vintners. Enter the code “VINOPANION” for a nifty 50% off of your tickets, or just follow the links below. Cheers!
