Argentina: LVMH is Memorable in Mendoza
Moet et Chandon, makers of Dom Perignon Champagne are one of the best known luxury brands in the world. While I enjoy their wines, my preference in Champagne has always edged towards Veuve Cliquot. Fortunately for Moet's parent company, LVMH, they own both labels, as well as my favorite wine of all, Chateau d'Yquem.
The Chandon brand has a wide appeal around the world, and so it is the moniker that LVMH (Luis Vitton, Moet Hennessy) has chosen for its overseas sparkling wine producers. Domaine Chandon of California and Australia and Bodegas Chandon here in Argentina.
LVMH has so much faith in the Mendoza wine region that they also have two more properties here, Terrazas de los Andes and in a joint venture with the very prestigious Cheval Blanc of Saint Emilion, France, Cheval des Andes.
Bodegas Chandon is not just limited to making fine sparkling wines under their name and their Baron B label, they are also the producers of the Valmont, Latitud 33, 2Voces and Guiado still wines.
In a recent tasting I was able to try quite a few of Bodegas Chandon's sparkling wines and I was genuinely impressed. I tend to judge sparkling wines by the Champagne standard, and these all stood up well. Even better than their California counterparts. Their entry level Chandon Extra Brut is made by the Charmat process but in this case it is a conscious decision to produce a lighter, fruitier style, and not a cost consideration. Their Brut Nature is only one dollar more at $13 and is made using the more traditional champagne method.
Their Baron B line is only a few dollars more and yet it exhibits all of the characteristics of a decent Champagne. Even more remarkable their top of the line Eternum comes in at an astonishingly affordable $50. Since these wines are mostly found in South America, enjoying enough Eternium when you are here could pay for your trip. In a highly rationalized Karen Blixen * sort of way.
Terrazas de los Andes is the premium winery of the group (Cheval des Andes is produced in this winery). Situated in one of Argentina's most historic wine properties the winery is an elegant blend of modern technology housed in traditional surroundings. Here is where visiting winemakers and dignitaries stay while visiting and are treated to fine meals from chef Jose Cacciavillani. A large range of wines are produced at the property, all with utmost care and precision.
Cheval des Andes is an attempt to create a Grand Cru style wine with all that Mendoza has to offer. With old vine Malbec blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Nicolas Audebert and Cheval Blanc's Pierre Lurton are creating wines that can easily stand up to any on the world stage. With the full fruit of a New World wine, and the subtly and elegance of an Old World offering the three vintages of Cheval des Andes I tasted really hit their mark. No less impressive is the refined and perfectly appointed hospitality facilities at the vineyard. With their impeccably groomed vines, remarkable view and adjacent polo field, this is what the home of a New World Grand Cru should look like.
Bodega Chandon, Terrazas and Cheval des Andes are breathtaking examples of what can be accomplished in the Mendoza region of Argentina. The wines are remarkable and the facilities and hospitality no less so.
* I could make you look it up, but for those of you not instantly familiar with the obscure reference, Karen Blixen is the author who wrote under the pen name Isak Dinesen. Her book "Out of Africa" may be what she is most famous for in the US, since it was made into a major motion picture. Her short story which was also adapted into a movie, "Babbette's Feast" is a favorite among gourmands for its portrayal of an unforgettable meal. Apocryphally, Karen Blixen was said to live on a diet of Champagne and oysters, although her biographer Javier Marias adds that this "was not quite true, for she also consumed prawns, asparagus, grapes and tea."
The Chandon brand has a wide appeal around the world, and so it is the moniker that LVMH (Luis Vitton, Moet Hennessy) has chosen for its overseas sparkling wine producers. Domaine Chandon of California and Australia and Bodegas Chandon here in Argentina.
LVMH has so much faith in the Mendoza wine region that they also have two more properties here, Terrazas de los Andes and in a joint venture with the very prestigious Cheval Blanc of Saint Emilion, France, Cheval des Andes.
Bodegas Chandon is not just limited to making fine sparkling wines under their name and their Baron B label, they are also the producers of the Valmont, Latitud 33, 2Voces and Guiado still wines.
In a recent tasting I was able to try quite a few of Bodegas Chandon's sparkling wines and I was genuinely impressed. I tend to judge sparkling wines by the Champagne standard, and these all stood up well. Even better than their California counterparts. Their entry level Chandon Extra Brut is made by the Charmat process but in this case it is a conscious decision to produce a lighter, fruitier style, and not a cost consideration. Their Brut Nature is only one dollar more at $13 and is made using the more traditional champagne method.
Their Baron B line is only a few dollars more and yet it exhibits all of the characteristics of a decent Champagne. Even more remarkable their top of the line Eternum comes in at an astonishingly affordable $50. Since these wines are mostly found in South America, enjoying enough Eternium when you are here could pay for your trip. In a highly rationalized Karen Blixen * sort of way.
Terrazas de los Andes is the premium winery of the group (Cheval des Andes is produced in this winery). Situated in one of Argentina's most historic wine properties the winery is an elegant blend of modern technology housed in traditional surroundings. Here is where visiting winemakers and dignitaries stay while visiting and are treated to fine meals from chef Jose Cacciavillani. A large range of wines are produced at the property, all with utmost care and precision.
Cheval des Andes is an attempt to create a Grand Cru style wine with all that Mendoza has to offer. With old vine Malbec blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Nicolas Audebert and Cheval Blanc's Pierre Lurton are creating wines that can easily stand up to any on the world stage. With the full fruit of a New World wine, and the subtly and elegance of an Old World offering the three vintages of Cheval des Andes I tasted really hit their mark. No less impressive is the refined and perfectly appointed hospitality facilities at the vineyard. With their impeccably groomed vines, remarkable view and adjacent polo field, this is what the home of a New World Grand Cru should look like.
Bodega Chandon, Terrazas and Cheval des Andes are breathtaking examples of what can be accomplished in the Mendoza region of Argentina. The wines are remarkable and the facilities and hospitality no less so.
* I could make you look it up, but for those of you not instantly familiar with the obscure reference, Karen Blixen is the author who wrote under the pen name Isak Dinesen. Her book "Out of Africa" may be what she is most famous for in the US, since it was made into a major motion picture. Her short story which was also adapted into a movie, "Babbette's Feast" is a favorite among gourmands for its portrayal of an unforgettable meal. Apocryphally, Karen Blixen was said to live on a diet of Champagne and oysters, although her biographer Javier Marias adds that this "was not quite true, for she also consumed prawns, asparagus, grapes and tea."
posted by Wineguy at 9:59 AM
1 Comments:
Hello Stephen,
For what it's worth, LVMH Champagne production is more liters that the entire Rioja region.
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