MalbecWhereas at last year's tasting the focus was on Mendoza, this year's selection was from further afield, both north and south, and included the regions of Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan, Neuquen and Rio Negro.
From the north, the star winery was Finca Las Moras (San Juan) - a great unoaked offering from the Tullum Valley, smooth with loads of violets and young red fruit; also a more alcoholic (14% abv) oaked version from the Zonda Valley. If I had to choose, I'd go for the unoaked.
From the south (almost 3,000 km south of San Juan in fact), the oaked sample from NQN Patagonia (Neuquen) was a very dark purple colour, with a nose of raspberries and a hint of rubber, not in a bad way. The palate had an almost sherry-like spiciness. There was also some serious sediment at the end of the bottle.
Torrontés
As for the whites, I was a bit underwhelmed. It may be a personal taste issue but I thought the majority were a bit flabby and lacking in acidity. I actually preferred the wines which had a bit of residual sugar, such as Bodegas Etchart's mid-priced Tardio Torrontés (late harvest). (Note that Torrontés is a descendant of Muscat and, in its best incarnations, has what Jancis Robinson calls a "headily perfumed" character - see article.)
According to James Forbes, UK Director of WoA, Argentinian wine exports to the UK have increased by 37.5% (to USD 44m) over the 18 months to June 2008 (i.e. since to beginning of the UK WoA campaign). The UK still lags significantly behind the US in imports of Argentinian wine, a situation which WoA UK is trying hard to rectify.
