Argentina: A Pair of Characters
The sheer variety of wine is one of its greatest attractions for me. There are many possible styles, although too many wines seem to pick a safe middle road that is sure to get high marks from the most influential wine writers. I prefer wines that are an expression of the winemaker, the culture and of course the terroir, that ever elusive sense of place.
Here in Argentina I have tasted many wines and visited many wineries, with that many more yet to come. Two approaches come to mind as I think about wine makers expressing their styles. Both of these are exciting wineries to me because of their willingness to move from the mainstream to express their vision of wine.
Bodegas Lopez adheres to a traditional style of winemaking that has all but disappeared from the planet. This 4th generation family owned winery ages their red wines for up to 15 years in oak casks and another 5 in bottle before release.
The result is a range of products that have the well aged character that few casual wine drinkers ever get a chance to experience. At the entry level the wines start around $7 but have several years of aging. The longest aged wines are still offered for as little as $40 and because these top wines are from the finest lots and vineyards, they actually taste younger than the lower priced wines.
The opportunity to taste these well aged flavors usually requires great expense and or time. Here Bodega Lopez has taken the expense and time on themselves, allowing you to reap the benefit of their dedication.
Make no mistake about it, dedication is exactly what is required. Aging wines for so long requires a huge facility with scores of giant casks. It also means the expense of holding on to wines for so long and the careful tending of them over all of that time. Few wineries are in a position to age wines more than a year or so, even if they wanted to.
Lagarde is another winery steeped in tradition that like Beodega Lopez was founded in the 19th century. Lagarde's adherence to tradition can be seen in their hand processing of their champenoise style sparkling wines, and their careful upkeep of the centenarian edifice that houses their winemaking facilities.
The wine style is thoroughly modern, but not cookie cutter appease the critics modern. Their approach is to create wines that have tangible structure but not at the cost of the fruit. The wines of Lagarde have a distinct style and are noticeably different from so many others from the world over.
One hundred year old vineyards help, but it is the conscious decisions of the winemaker and management that ultimately shape the style of wines. They could easily be making wines to please others, but pleasing themselves is more important.
This does not mean the wines have gone unnoticed, their walls are littered with awards from competitions around the world, and from what I tasted they well deserve them. It just proves that you don't have to make wines to one person's taste to be critically acclaimed, there is plenty of room in the world of wine to demonstrate character and style.
Those middle of the road "safe" wines often decry that they are ensuring profits and salability, and I am well aware that making wine is a business and completely understand why someone would want to ensure that all of their products sells. But the next time you are ready to buy into this excuse for perfectly acceptable mediocrity remember that Bodega Lopez and Lagarde still sell every bottle of their wines, and not just at collector prices but for rates that are far more reasonable than many of their competitors.
Viva la Difference seems a fitting accolade for these wines, even while I want to be sure to point out that I am not taking anything away from the many other great producers in Argentina and around the world that make their own choices. Pleasing me is not the end all in wine making, but if you give these two properties a try you might find that they please you as well.
Here in Argentina I have tasted many wines and visited many wineries, with that many more yet to come. Two approaches come to mind as I think about wine makers expressing their styles. Both of these are exciting wineries to me because of their willingness to move from the mainstream to express their vision of wine.
Bodegas Lopez adheres to a traditional style of winemaking that has all but disappeared from the planet. This 4th generation family owned winery ages their red wines for up to 15 years in oak casks and another 5 in bottle before release.
The result is a range of products that have the well aged character that few casual wine drinkers ever get a chance to experience. At the entry level the wines start around $7 but have several years of aging. The longest aged wines are still offered for as little as $40 and because these top wines are from the finest lots and vineyards, they actually taste younger than the lower priced wines.
The opportunity to taste these well aged flavors usually requires great expense and or time. Here Bodega Lopez has taken the expense and time on themselves, allowing you to reap the benefit of their dedication.
Make no mistake about it, dedication is exactly what is required. Aging wines for so long requires a huge facility with scores of giant casks. It also means the expense of holding on to wines for so long and the careful tending of them over all of that time. Few wineries are in a position to age wines more than a year or so, even if they wanted to.
Lagarde is another winery steeped in tradition that like Beodega Lopez was founded in the 19th century. Lagarde's adherence to tradition can be seen in their hand processing of their champenoise style sparkling wines, and their careful upkeep of the centenarian edifice that houses their winemaking facilities.
The wine style is thoroughly modern, but not cookie cutter appease the critics modern. Their approach is to create wines that have tangible structure but not at the cost of the fruit. The wines of Lagarde have a distinct style and are noticeably different from so many others from the world over.
One hundred year old vineyards help, but it is the conscious decisions of the winemaker and management that ultimately shape the style of wines. They could easily be making wines to please others, but pleasing themselves is more important.
This does not mean the wines have gone unnoticed, their walls are littered with awards from competitions around the world, and from what I tasted they well deserve them. It just proves that you don't have to make wines to one person's taste to be critically acclaimed, there is plenty of room in the world of wine to demonstrate character and style.
Those middle of the road "safe" wines often decry that they are ensuring profits and salability, and I am well aware that making wine is a business and completely understand why someone would want to ensure that all of their products sells. But the next time you are ready to buy into this excuse for perfectly acceptable mediocrity remember that Bodega Lopez and Lagarde still sell every bottle of their wines, and not just at collector prices but for rates that are far more reasonable than many of their competitors.
Viva la Difference seems a fitting accolade for these wines, even while I want to be sure to point out that I am not taking anything away from the many other great producers in Argentina and around the world that make their own choices. Pleasing me is not the end all in wine making, but if you give these two properties a try you might find that they please you as well.
posted by Wineguy at 11:19 AM
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