Argentina: Restaurant Review - Azafran

Everything we read, and everything we heard said we had to try Azafran restaurant in Mendoza. Frommer's calls it "charming" and the service "convivial." Trip advisor places it #1 out of 28 restaurants reviewed in Mendoza and rates it 4.5 out of 5. Viva travel guides raves "it’s hard not to enjoy Azafran."

The premise can best be described as an upscale deli with an emphasis on wine. There is a wine room where you go to pick your own bottles, in lieu of a wine list. They specialize in cheese and meat plates as a starter, and the place is certainly very busy.

Perhaps it is because of our expectations, or it may be that we prefer a different style, but we were not thrilled. It wasn't awful, buy any stretch, but it came nowhere close to the hype.

The service was cursory and unprofessional. I had to point out repeatedly that the water glass they gave me was cracked, they just kept putting it back in the wait station and one after the other servers kept trying to give it back to me. They don't believe in giving you new silver between courses, so like a lowly diner they just throw your dirty fork back onto the table.

The food was passable, but not much better. The potatoes for all the world tasted like they were instant. They may well not have been, but they sure did taste that way. I had potatoes stuffed into an onion, and my wife had them stuffed in the ravioli. Despite the different descriptions they tasted remarkably similar, and unremarkable.

We had a camembert baked in puff pastry with jam, but the cheese was bitter and was only made better with the addition of the jam. Alas, there was at best a drizzle of jam for looks, hardly enough to make the dish palatable. It was served with a bed of bitter greens. Someone likes bitter a whole lot more than I do.

My first choice of appetizer was not available so I settled for a trio of empanadas. They were ok, but despite their exotic descriptions, blood sausage, sweetbreads and a onion and sausage filling, they were not much more interesting than the ubiquitous offerings from every other restaurant. The presentation was on a cutting board which did nothing to enhance the experience.

No doubt we would have enjoyed the charcuterie plate better, as that is one of our favorite types of nibbles, but we have that almost every night at home, so we wanted something different.

The menu selections I had read about sounded quite enticing, but the night we were there none of them were to be seen. Instead we opted for steaks, which is what they do best here in Argentina. They were fine, but nothing special, and not as good as the steak joint around the corner from us. The one nod to making the fillet more interesting was a slathering of goat cheese. Perhaps if the afore mentioned potatoes had not been so disappointing the main courses would have had a better reception.

The wine room was fun to look around in, but there were people seated in there, making it hard to get to some of the wines, and it made me feel like I was interrupting their night. I ended up to rushing to making my selections, instead of taking the time the fine collection warranted. The wine steward was charming and graciously confirmed that my choices were ideal. He then disappeared and allowed a more clumsy assistant to stumble through the service.

The din of the diners and the people looking around at the shelves of products behind our table did nothing to improve the ambiance, nor did the door that wouldn't close and let in the cold night.

My research promised me choices like deer, lamb or rabbit ravioli in champagne sauce, none of these were to be seen. They didn't even have anything remotely like the sweet potato puréed in a light cream sauce I had read about.

We had high hopes, spent a pretty penny, and really wanted it to be a special night. Instead it was passable and nothing I would go out of my way to recommend.

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.

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."

Argentina: Tailored to Taste

Like the three bears these three wineries are small, medium and large, unlike what goldilocks found there is no perfect size. Each has its advantage and each has their part to play.

Familla Cassone is a small family owned operation where all of the wines are handcrafted and made according to the vision of a single winemaker. The whole family is on on the operation from production to sales. The result is a small run of high quality wines that reflect the vision of the Cassone family, and the terroir of the area.

The boutique wines of Cassone exhibit a quality that is most often found at this level of production. Large enough to make a profit, small enough to be able to give personal attention to every barrel, every lot of wine. This doesn't mean that every wine they make is to my taste, but it does mean it is to their taste.

Andeluna Cellars was founded by the heir to the Frito-Lay fortune and it has that bigger than life feel that only a Texan could inspire. Their goal is to make consumer friendly wines that are primarily sold in the US and to that end they are very successful. The facilities boast an impressive view and just as impressive edifice.

The restaurant too can not help but to impress. A six course meal with a different bread for each offering is a nice touch. Andeluna Cellars is full of nice touches, and the many American visitors it receives appreciate them all. All of this luxury comes at a price. The cost of lunch is high for Argentina and the price of the wines in the US is at a premium.

Trivento is owned by the huge Chilean producer Concha y Toro who's mind boggling scale has been brought to Argentina. This is industrial winemaking at its best. With automated systems and the latest technology. Recognizing how difficult it is to make fine wines with this approach, the premium division is a winery within a winery.

Wine in a box and entry level quaffs require consistency and the economics of scale, but the best wines require a hands on approach and small vilifications. So all of the industrial equipment that goes into making so much of the wine at Trivento is duplicated in a more modest scale for their best wines. The economics also work in the consumer's favor, keeping the cost of the premium wine to a modest level.

The beauty of the wine industry is in the diversity. The many different flavors and the many different approaches producers of all size take towards their wines. Here in Argentina the gape varieties may be similar, but the wines are widely varying in style as can be seen by this trio of strategies .

My taste in wines leads me to prefer the Famillia Cassone offerings, while my wallet is fond of Trivento's wines, and my sense of style and love of luxury will long remember our visit to the exquisite Andeluna Cellars. There is something for everyone within a short drive from Mendoza, Argentina, or an even shorter drive to your local wine outlet.