Tag: Argentina

Tasting

2011 Finca La Amalia “Dos Fincas” Malbec

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clean, med+ ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, bright bramble fruit, blueberry, blackberry, smoke, spice
Mouth: dry, med body, med acid, med coarse tannin, med alcohol, med length, savoury finish, lush
All in all: Good quality: balanced on the palate (except for alcohol), and has elegance. Although not a fruit bomb (which is common for many inexpensive Malbec), it’s missing complexity that would take it to a higher quality level. Drink now; not intended for ageing.

2011 Finca La Amalia "Dos Fincas" MalbecWhat an interesting little Malbec. For a grape that’s rising in popularity, more and more inexpensive fruity bottles are popping up all over the market. It’s not rare that I see the everyday folk looking for one, and sometimes customers look for another regular bottle instead of a Fischer Price-esque My-First-Malbec sort of dealio.… read more

WSET Advanced

2011 Susana Balbo “Crios” Torrontes

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, watery rim
Nose: clean, med+ to high intensity, youthful, tropical fruits, spice, ginger, soapy
Mouth: dry (but ripe), med bodied, med- to med acidity, med alcohol, med length, med intensity
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

2011 Susana Balbo “Crios” TorrontesAt its worst, Torrontes can be too floral in the soapy sense, not unlike that old lady perfume smell that Viognier can easily morph into. Then again, I’m personally not a big fan of floral things, and some of my co-workers love things like jasmine-flavoured beers where I would rather be having a red ale.

Wines like this are great for the new wine drinkers – once the newbies get bored of off-dry Riesling and Moscato, this generally inexpensive grape variety carries tropical fruit characteristics with floral tones which are just as pronounced.… read more

Quaffing

2010 Finca La Amalia Malbec Reserva

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, tinge of purple
Nose: med+ intensity, developing, raspberry, oak, pepper, jam, touch of barnyard, blueberry, spice
Mouth: dry, med+ bodied, med tannin, med+ acid, sour cherry, med- to med length, med+ intensity, med+ alcohol
All in all: Good to very good quality; drink now, but can age.

Many of my co-workers have come to agreement that Malbec is the new Shiraz in terms of its trendiness. I think it’s true – all too often wines made from Shiraz or Malbec can be made in a jammy, fruit-forward, and crowd-pleasing style with lower complexities. That being said, there exist Malbecs that aren’t just simple fruit bombs. I can tell Malbecs are still a little bit under the radar since my computer thinks Malbec isn’t a word. … read more

Tasting

I NEED A BIGGER KNIFE. (UBC Wine Tasting Sesh #2)

Posted on by Josh

Long-ass day. Doesn’t seem so bad in retrospect, but I woke up early for a 9AM thing at UBC, took the 99 to the last stop for work, and then needed to travel all the way back to UBC to lead Part 2 of the sort-of-intro-to-wine themed tasting, all while wearing pants that weren’t jeans, one of those shirts you’d hate to spill wine on, and shoes that didn’t fit just enough to make my feet cry. The garb was fitting for all of the day’s events but for this day in particular, I would defs have lead a wine tasting wearing nothing but seven layers of random comfortable 7-foot-long linens, cinnamon-bun-Homer-Simpson style. I was that uncomfortable (ugh rain + sickness).… read more