Private Visit to La Bodega Luigi Bosca

---

Ampora Wine Tours was a small office we stumbled across while walking in Mendoza. The manager, Kai, speaks English, (as well as Spanish and German), so it is easy to communicate your wants and needs. On the top of our list of wineries to visit was "La Linda", because Naz gifted us a bottle from his visit to Buenos Aires in '07. However we soon learned that "La Linda" was a wine, rather than a vineyard. The vineyard is "Luigi Bosca". Ampora set up an appointment with Luigi Bosca and arranged a driver as well. Unlike Naramata, when attending vineyards in Mendoza, one must have an appointment and be registered with the security guard, otherwise there is positively no admittance. This would be the first of our 2 winery visits of the day, the other being Melipal.

At Luigi Bosca, we were greeted by a lovely young lady dressed in a crisp linen suit, accented with a silk aquamarine belt. I soon observed this was the uniform of the guides. Our guide toured us through the tanks and de-stemming area. Explaining each area in detail. We passed through the bottling stage and strolled through the long hallways of barrels. She gave us a history lesson through the art work displayed on the walls. Bodega Luigi Bosca was founded by the Arizu family, and amazingly enough, as generations and generations have passed, the "Familia Arizu" still runs the operation. We saw first hand some family members inspecting the bottling area. Interestingly to note, "Arizu" means oak grove.

Here I learned that "Finca" means farm. Easy enough for one to know I guess, but I didn't and I was pleased to learn the translation.

Our guide set up our tasting glasses at the bar and we went through each wine, one by one. We watched her as she chilled the white wine glass for the Brut: first, she opened the bottle, poured a little in the glass, swirled it around, smelled it, then threw it out. Perplexed at seeing this, we quickly discovered this is how she was in fact preparing the glass. She did this for each glass. 3 in total. Yes, she participated in the tasting. What a job! However, the guides must know their limits, and they taste and spit discreetly into a cleverly designed container.

The Luigi Bosca Sauvignon Blanc was a unique color. We were advised to hold the glass against the sheet on white paper. The wine displayed colors of green and yellow. The bouquet was herbaceous and grassy. The flavor was intense apricot. The finish was smooth.

The Luigi Bosca Pinot Noir was garnet in color. Light and smoky, very nice. Our guide informed us it could be cellared up to 8 years.

The Luigi Bosca Malbec displayed a very strong chocolate flavor, as well as a coffee cream.

The Luigi Bosca Merlot was a violet, black color, aged in French Oak for 10 months. Our guide advised not to serve this one with spicy food.

The Luigi Bosca Cabernet Sauvignon was aged 12 months in oak. Spicy and toasty. This one could be kept up to 12 years in the cellar.

Then we experimented with the sparkling wines~"Espumantes".

We began with the Finca La Linda Extra Brut, made of Chardonnay and Sauvignon grapes. When you looked closely at the glass, there were very tiny bubbles. The method used for this Brut was called the "charmat" method.

Moving on to the Luigi Bosca Brut Nature, our guide stated that pinot grapes were used. The bubbles were noticably faster and bigger than in the Extra Brut.

Lastly, Boheme Brut Nature, the grand finale of Bruts, elegant, natural, and a soft finish.

We highly recommend a visit to the Luigi Bosca Winery, located at San Martin 2044, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. Check out their website at: http://www.luigibosca.com.ar

---

Comments

[Lance Barrs]

Visit to your Bodega
My wife and I live in Canada and we are planning a trip to Argentina. Our first stop will be the Mendoza area. We will be there from March 3-12th, with a side trip to San Rafael also planned in that time period. We have enjoyed some of your wines and would like to set up a visit to your Bodega. The Vintage Magazine in Ontario, Canada - has a feature of your Winerey, and it looks spectacular. Looking forward to hearing back from you. Lance Barrs

[Cin and Galib]

Attention Lance!
Hi Lance! Galib & I live in Canada, we only visited the Bodega Luigi Bosca on our honeymoon. I strongly suggest you contact Ampora Wine Tours in Mendoza, where they will arrange tours for you at your request. Ensure you take a list of wineries you would like to see or they will suggest some as well. Ampora Wine Tours Sarmiento 647 Mendoza, Argentina (0)261 429 2931