Armit 20th Anniversary Tasting

Notting Hill merchant Armit marked its 20th anniversary with its 2008 tasting yesterday at Delfina Art Cafe. Their strong French and Italian portfolio is backed up by some interesting New World wines. My highlights were:

Burgundy

Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon 2006 - minerals and loads of citrus/pear, long finish with an almost autolytic taste

Mischief & Mayhem Meursault 2006 - lovely rounded fruit, gentle but full in the mouth

Rhone

Andre Brunel Chateauneauf-du-Pape Les Cailloux Rouge 2005 - classic Grenache - dark cherries, chocolate and spice

Germany

Baron Heyl Estate Brudersberg Grand Cru 2006 - a big, viscous trocken from this producer in Rheinhessen which really rolls around your mouth; lowish acidity though

Italy

Valentina Cubi Amarone - there were 2 Amarones, a 1997 and a 2003. I actually preferred the 03, which seemed richer, smoother and with an (even) longer finish. Both were tawny, with a classic nose of raisins and alcohol vapour; coffee, chocolate and dark spices on the palate.

Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili 2003 - light-med tawny colour; 14.5% abv, huge chewy tannins which dried my teeth out, high acidity - too young still? - would be good to taste in 15 years!

Ornellaia 2001 - walnuts and big red fruit (strawberries) on nose, as well as alcohol whiff (14.5%); a bit disappointing on the palate, alcohol masking the flavour a bit

Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2000 - 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. Still young (average age for Sassicaia is 30 years). Tawny, big aristocratic nose, bit thin on palate?, high acidity, fine sediment, v long finish

Argentina

Nomade Torrontes 2007 - an especially floral, aromatic Torrontes from Cafayate; good acid (compared to other Torrontes I have tasted), although still a bit flabby/watery

NZ

Sauvignons - at the cheaper end, the Momo Sauvignon was classic NZ cut grass, greenery, apples; the basic Seresins (07 and 08) were very good (although a little watery on palate?); the Seresin Reserve was great - fresh minerals and a real mouthful of the terroir

Seresin Reserve Chardonnay 1996 - fantastic, deep golden, not too much oak

Seresin Riesling - strong petrol whiff (in a good way) - v typically Riesling-ish

Wines of Argentina Annual UK Tasting 2008

Last week's Wines of Argentina (WoA) tasting at Lord's Cricket Ground predictably showcased 2008 vintage Malbec and Torrontes.

Malbec

Whereas 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.