As the fifth largest wine producer in the world, Argentina is no small player. In this country we’re gradually getting used to the varieties available, and are seeing quality offerings pop up in more and more shops and restaurants around London.
In the past few months, it’s been particularly prominent, at least to us here at Blue Tomato. We’ve had the biggest ever annual Wines of Argentina tasting, a Buenos Aires inspired supperclub with Septima wines at A La Cruz restaurant, and a chocolate and Malbec pairing with Paul A Young at Gaucho.
It’s also at Gaucho, the undisputed home of Argentine wine in the UK, that our next encounter with vino Argentino takes place. Nestled in the opulent but cosy function room at their Charlotte Street restaurant, the wall-to-floor wine shelves act as a prominent reminder that the group has more Argentine wines on their menu than any other restaurant in the country. In fact – bar a few Champagnes – their list is entirely Argentine.
The subject for today is Vina Alicia, one of the many boutique wine producers which has been handpicked and imported by Gaucho’s wine experts. The president of the company, Rodrigo Arizu, talks through the offerings, which come from his two vineyards, which boast soil, location and climate to have them rated amongst the “most wanted lands in the world”.
Argentine’s signature style Malbecs with varyingly rich, fruity and smoky flavours are poured, swirled, swallowed and dissected alongside equally impressive and less expected wines from grape varieties including the well-known Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as the less heard of Petit Verdot and Carignan, the latter being a well-used blending grape that rarely gets any limelight of its own. And don’t forget the whites, either. It’s the diversity of what’s on offer – even more so than the quality – which is the lasting and stimulating impression.
To explore the full range of what Vina Alicia make, you can take a look at their website and pop into Gaucho’s dedicated wine shop, Cavas de Gaucho in Piccadilly, where they’ll be able to fill you in on this and and a vast array of other Argentine offerings.
For more information on Gaucho’s wines and restaurants, visit www.gauchorestaurants.co.uk.
Date posted: 05/11/2011
Category: News.
Tags: argentina, argentine wine, cavas de gaucho, gaucho, london, malbec, vina alicia, wine, wine tasting.
Comments
Comments are only open to subscribers.
Sign up, login or view your profile.
