Day 4 - Argentina - Mendoza

South America » Argentina » Mendoza » Mendoza
May 2nd 2006

Published: May 15th 2006

Edit Blog Post

Decada

Catena Zapata

A great tasting at Catena Zapata on our first day in Mendoza.

Leaving Santiago

The wake-up call came at 5:30AM and we were on the road at 6:50AM. An easy and quick drive to SCL. OK, the older gentleman filling up his car s l o w l y at the Shell station at the airport was a bit tiring. Avis was, as usual, extremely efficient. We used up all our Chilean pesos and put the balance on AMEX. Good to use up the local currency.

LAN Chile has the best first class check-in. After getting in the 'regular' line, Bryan asked the attendant if there was another check-in.

Of course there is. Please go down to the end of the building and use the Preferrential Check-In.

Straight to the end of the building and around the corner. Yes, four agents in a nice, private area. After a brief scramble to find our Chile arrival/departure forms, we received our boarding passes and went next door to Chilean immigration. This was cool. As the only ones there, we breezed through and then went to security. Walked through without a beep, and into the departure area. Simple, fast and efficient.

Down to LAN's first class lounge and connected to the wireless internet in the lounge area with a fresh coffee.

Thank you Executive Platinum!

Weather Delay

LAN Chile Executive Lounge

Since LAN Chile is a complete OneWorld partner with American Airlines, our Executive Platinum cards allowed us access to their lounge. We had wireless access and were able to blog while relaxing with a coffee.

in SCL
Well, LAN Flight 930, scheduled to leave at 9:00 has been delayed. Next announcement at 9:30 AM. We knew it was way too good to be true.

Back to the LAN Chile lounge.

Hey, the plane is now boarding! Gotta go ...

Arrival in Argentina

After an uneventful 40 minute flight, we landed in Mendoza. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day. The leaves on the trees were in their fall colors. The air was crisp. We were only one hour behind schedule.

Bryan remembered his way through town and we were soon on our way down Route 40 to Norton.

Bodega Norton

Graciela, our tour guide, met us at the front door and even though we were an hour late, it was no big deal. She took us on a private tour through the bodega, which was in full production. It was amazing to be able to walk through the inner workings of the winery. The highlight was watching the grapes being unloaded into the de-stemmer, which is the start of the production.

Norton is similar to Casa Silva in that it is an old, established bodega (establised 1895) that

Aerial View - Andes

It is on 122 miles from Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina. The flight goes directly over the Andes - here is a glacier not too far below us.

has evolved and taken a new strategy to bring higher quality wines to both the domestic and international markets.

Even with this lofty capitalistic goal, Norton demonstrated their compassion for their heritage in Mendoza by allowing local residents to come and fill their 5-liter bottles with table wine for $6.00 for the Malbec and $6.50 for the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Norton has the capacity to produce 8 million liters a year but does not make that much at this time.

We tasted the following wines at Norton:

(1) 2004 Norton Lo Tengo Torrentes - this wine is exclusively made for export and they do not sell it in Argentina. It is very aromatic with tropical fruit, crisp and lively, with a fresh finish; we rated this wine a 6.5/10.

(2) 2003 Norton Malbec D.O.C. - this is equivalent of a ‘barrel select’ in the U.S.; it has spent 12 months in oak and 12 months in the cellar; it had a great bouquet for a Malbec and was light and fruity in its taste; we rated the wine a 7.1/10.

After our tasting, we were delighted when Graciela presented us a bottle of 2003 Malbec

Aerial View - Lujan de Cuyo

This is just north of the Mendoza River - Lujan de Cuyo. This is a great area for vineyards and is where Bodega Carlos Pulenta is located (our destination this evening).

D.O.C. to enjoy while on our trip. Wow, how often does that happen? Thank you Norton!

A Few Words on Sauvignon Blanc

One of our take-aways from this trip (and our recent dinner with Bob and Lisa) is a renewed respect for Sauvignon Blanc. While we enjoy Chardonnay, especially California Chardonnays, we never really have appreciated Sauvignon Blanc.

On this trip we were introduced to world-class Sauvignon Blanc. We took the time and had the opportunity to explore, understand and appreciate some of the complexities and exclusive essence found in a Sauvignon Blanc.

We are looking forward to sharing our new found understanding and appreciation with our good friends. Yes, we will be drinking and appreciating Sauvignon Blanc much more in the future.

Catena Zapata

Our next tasting was at Catena Zapata. As in Norton, Catena Zapata is an icon of world-class Argentine wines. Its beautiful Mayan-style pyramid stands out against the blue Argentine sky, surrounded by hectares of vines.

Amazingly, we were 20 minutes early for our appointment and we snuck in through the workers’ entrance, surprising Ana Monteiro, our tour guide. Since we were early, Ana handed us a taste of their

Norton - Steps to Tasting Room

Norton´s tasting room looks over the vineyards and has a great view of the Andes. These are the steps leading to the tasting room.

Pinot to help pass the time.

We were joined on the tour by a couple from San Diego, California. Pete was an ex-navy fighter pilot (carrier-based) and both he and his wife loved wine. Ana then gave the four of us comprehensive tour through the bodega.

After setting up our tasting, as a special surprise, Ana set an additional place for Catena Zapata’s Assistant Winemaker, Pablo Sanchez. He joined us for the tasting and helped to give us a much deeper appreciation of the complexities of the wines.

Pablo started in the wine business when he was 19 (he is now 31) and was pleased to report he had just completed his tenth harvest as a winemaker.

We tasted the following wines at Catena Zapata:

(1) 2002 Catena Alta Chardonnay - oak, vanilla, this is a big Chardonnay very much like the California style; we both liked it; 13.5% alcohol; we rated this wine a 9/10.

(2) 2002 Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon - this had a nice oak nose, was fruity in the mouth, not like the traditional Californian cabernet (no pepper, leather) but very balanced; 13.9% alcohol; we rated this wine 8.5/10.

Norton - Grape Debris

Here the grape seeds and skills are being loaded into trucks after being pressed.

(3) Catena Alta Malbec - this Malbec had a pleasant bouquet of violets and flowers, it was a bit sweeter that the Cabernet, it had an intense dark color; 14%!a(MISSING)lcohol; we rated this wine 8.5/10.

(4) After Bryan goaded our gracious host by discussing the merits of D.V. Catena, Ana pulled out a bottle of what was her favorite Catena Zapata wine: 2001 D.V. Catena Cabernet - Cabernet. It says ‘cabernet’ twice because it has grapes for two different vineyards. What is interesting about this wine is that it is made for local consumption (not for export) and reflect the ‘local taste’. It had a very nice nose and was light and more fruity that you would expect from a cabernet. We rated this wine 8.2/10. When leaving Buenos Aires, we saw this in the duty free shop for US$15.00. (We bought a bottle of the 2001 D.V. Catena Syrah - Syrah.)

The afternoon flew by and before we knew it, it was 5:30 PM.

Full of confidence (hey, it was before dusk!) we left Catena Zapata and headed for Carlos Pulenta, where we were staying the night.

Pulenta Estates

Within 10 km we pulled

Norton - Bottle Storage

Norton stores their bottled wine for a year or so being being labeled and packed for export markets. Our guide, Graciela, and Jo-Anne are reviewing the 12,000 bottles here.

into Pulenta Estates. It didn’t look anything like the website … what were all those workers doing? Why was this all initial construction? Hmmm.

Convinced we were in the right place (perhaps bolstered by the previous wine and the fact it was still daylight) we drove all around looking for the elusive ‘Posada’ that has graced the pages of Conde Nast magazine. Nope - nothing but dust and vines here.

On our last trip through the vineyard, we stopped by two gentlemen walking casually along the road. We asked them where the bodega was. They looked at us with amusement. We said we were looking for Carlos Pulenta. They said we were at the wrong vineyard. They spoke very good English and were able to direct us to where we needed to go (although, we both noted the skepticism in their voice that we would actually be able to find where we were going … had they spoken with the Chileans…?). Later, we learned that we had met at least one of Carlos Pulenta's brothers.

It’s now clear to us (and no doubt to you) that we can not only get lost in the dead of night,

Norton - Bryan´s Notes from 2005

Bryan points our his notes from his preliminary visit to Argentina in July 2005.

but also in the light of day.

Carlos Pulenta

We finally arrive at Carlos Pulenta (ha ha - we didn’t get lost again!) and are in awe of the beauty of the surroundings. We are nestled at the base of the Andes and surrounded by vineyards. American Way Magazine profiled Carlos Pulenta in their December 2005 issue.

We get to our room, which is fabulous, and open the bottle that is waiting for us:

(1) 2004 Carlos Pulenta Tomero Cabernet Sauvignon - a big jammy red, smoky, vanilla, and Jo-Anne thinks it tastes like a California Zinfandel; this bottle has the first synthetic cork we have encountered in Argentina; 14.2%!a(MISSING)lcohol; we rated it a 8.7/10.

There are only 2 rooms at the Posada at Carlos Pulenta.

But the rooms are ultra-modern and have all the amenities that you would want (plus killer views, fabulous wine and a world-class restaurant). We are a little stymied that the wireless won’t work in the room. We do establish, however, that we can get a wireless connection in the business center - and we will have to get the blog on site before we take off tomorrow.

Catena - Waiting for Tour

Bryan enjoys a glass of Pinot Noir while waiting for our tour of Catena Zapata.

Dinner at La Bourgogne

We go to La Bourgogne (the restaurant) for dinner around 8:00 PM.

As usual, we are the first people to arrive at the restaurant. What is it about eating so late here? OK, we actually were looking for that elusive wireless connection.

Ultimately there are five other parties at the restaurant tonight. But initially we enjoy the freedom of being the only people there and we wandered around and poked our head into the nooks and crannies. We had an amazing dinner.

If you closed your eyes you could be in New York city. It astonished us that this elegance and luxury is located in the middle of (really) nowhere. Driving through Lujan de Cayo reminded us of small towns in Mexico. Then, you turn the corner and step into a world-class restaurant. It is mind blowing. There is an opportunity to be had here …

During dinner Carlos Pulenta comes over to our table and introduced himself. He is humble and gracious and offers us anything he has. We recount the story of getting lost and discover that Pulenta Estates is owned by his two brothers (who we believe we met).

Catena - View of Vineyards

There is a great view of the vineyards from the top of Catena´s majestic facility.

The hospitality here is second to none.

With dinner we enjoyed the following wines:

(1) 2005 Tomeron Sauvignon Blanc - this is a medium bodied wine, floral and citrus, a touch of fresh creamy banana, chilled to perfection; $9.50; we rated this wine 8.2/10.

(2) 2004 Vistalba Corte C - 85%!M(MISSING)albec, 15%!M(MISSING)erlot, typical Malbec with a delicate nose of violets, jammy, plum red: $13; we rated this wine 8.5/10.

We head back to our room tired … but looking forward to continuing our journey into Argentina.

Jo-Anne faithfully blogged our day’s notes.