Wine & Spirits - Summer 2022 - 91

New Releases
IMPORTED WINES
ARGENTINA: WHITE
92 | Areyna
SALTA
93 | Piattelli
$15
2021 Salta Torrontés (BEST BUY) ^ This wine's
Andean coolness shifts between rock salt and
oyster shells-a mineral character that sets
it apart from its peers. Grown at elevations
reaching 5,400 feet, on 43-year-old vines, this
hides torrontés's fl orality until the fi nish,
along with orange peel and a Campari-like
bitterness that hints at more detail to come
with air. It would match with grilled chicken
and capers in a lemon sauce, as one taster
suggested, or fi re-grilled river trout. -C.W. §
Vine Connections, Sausalito, CA
92 | Abras
$17
2021 Valle de Cafayate Torrontés ^ This is a
generous white, with layers of sweet lemon
and ripe peach-from pit to fl esh to fuzz-its
fl avors punctuated by savory minerals and
amped-up fl orals. Air reveals a leesy funk,
restrained enough to add complexity rather
than complications. The sweetness of its fruit
could match something with mild spice-or
enjoy it in the sun on a gingham blanket.
-C.W. § Vinovia, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
90 | Colomé
$12
2021 Valle Calchaquí Estate Torrontés
(BEST BUY) ^ Anibal Calcagno of Oceans in New
York enjoyed this wine for its river-rock minerality
and clean fi nish of dried spices and
light, perfumed fl orals. There's a lemon-verbena
scent to the fruit and a smooth texture,
ready for scallops and asparagus. -C.W. § The
Hess Collection, Napa, CA
ARGENTINA: RED
91 | Trivento
$90
2018 Luján de Cuyo Eolo Malbec ^ Draped
in oak, this plummy malbec shows its brightness
on its edges, in fl oral accents. It's silky,
with a pleasurable soft-clay texture to its
length. The wine should improve as it digests
the oak infl uence in the coming years; if you
open it now, give it a vigorous decant. -C.W. §
Fetzer Vineyards, Hopland, CA
90 | Domaine Bousquet $36
2019 Uco Valley Ameri Gualtallary Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ This is pie-crust rich, its year
in French oak and full maIolactic conversion
taking the deep blueberry fl avors towards
berry tart. The wine has enough ripeness to
fi ll it out, and would be tasty alongside fatty,
charred sausages off the grill. -C.W. § Origins
Organic, Miami, FL
90 | Piattelli
$40
2019 Cafayate Valley Arlene Series Blend ^
Decant this blend-almost all malbec with
cabernets sauvignon and franc-to banish
some initial reduction. Then enjoy its
crunchy currant and chocolate notes that
dance along the red-blue-black spectrum.
Its structure lasts, ready to be rounded out
with smoked sausage. -C.W. § Artel Brands,
Minneapolis, MN
91 | Piattelli
$17
2021 Cafayate Valley Reserve Malbec +
Tannat (BEST BUY) ^ Rich and juicy, bursting
with blueberry and blackberry fl avors, this
SUMMER 202 2
WINE & SPIR IT S
91
$25
2020 Cafayate Valley Grand Reserve Malbec
^ This is Piattelli's top selection of malbec,
and the panel remarked on this wine's polish
and complexity, calling out fl avors like
vanilla cola, olive salinity, blackberry pie
and truffl e. That salinity shows more prominently
than the sweeter fl avors, making the
texture nervy rather than slick. The acidity
lasts, keeping the wine fresh. Pour it with
liver and onions and enjoy the feast of fl avors.
-C.W. § Artel Brands, Minneapolis, MN
93 | Colomé
$150
2015 Salta Altura Máxima Malbec ^ Donald
Hess planted his Altura Máxima vineyard
in 2007 at a dizzying 10,207 feet above sea
level. Perhaps that's why it takes this malbec
takes time to emerge from hiding, though
it's saline from start to fi nish. After two days
open, its structure is broad, and though the
fl avors are restrained (a smoky umeboshi
plum note), the austerity called to mind a salt
fl at. The tannins seem to cluster in the center
of your tongue, and would be nice with
char-grilled chicken thighs. -C.W. § The Hess
Collection, Napa, CA
91 | Piattelli Vineyards
$50
2019 Cafayate Valley Cab Five Red Blend ^
This blend of cabernet sauvignon (65 percent)
and malbec (20) includes small amounts of
cabernet franc, malbec and ancellotta. It captures
attention with savory dark plum, plush
tannins and rich chocolate in the fi nish. Still,
it takes two days for the aromas to come forward,
and the crush of blueberry and currant
fl avors outlasts the richer sides of this wine.
-C.W. § Artel Brands, Minneapolis, MN
blend of equal parts tannat and malbec manages
to present both varieties without overpowering
either. Tense in its structure, it captures
the syrupy-violet richness of malbec
without losing the tannins of tannat, though
those tannins take a few days to coalesce.
-C.W. § Artel Brands, Minneapolis, MN
90 | Piattelli
$17
2021 Cafayate Valley Reserve Malbec (BEST
BUY) ^ This malbec carries a high-altitude electricity,
neon-lighting the plummy fruit and
violet fl orality. Pair that freshness and the
wine's gravelly tannins with a pepper-crusted
steak. -C.W. §Artel Brands, Minneapolis, MN
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Wine & Spirits - Summer 2022

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