The largest of the malbec producers in Argentina, Trapiche, sent winemaker Carla Castorina to visit their importers, Frederick Wildman and Sons, Ltd. I was fortunate enough to be invited to meet with her, along with several other beverage-type writers from blogs and newspapers and wine sites.
Frederick Wildman redid their offices when they moved here decades ago, and the tasting room looks convincingly like a wine cellar — except for the sunny south-facing windows, granted — with a rounded ceiling (covered in stamped metal with a grapevine motif), brick wall behind the library of books in the picture above, and…
…elegant in every way, down to the too-pretty-to-use spittoons built into one wall.
The first wine, as a sort of greeting to the space, was an extra brut sparkling, 70% chardonnay grapes, 20% semillon, and (surprising to me) 10% malbec. Since I’ve never met a malbec that wasn’t at least deep garnet, more often purple, it’s hard to remember red grapes don’t have to mean red wine. At any rate, this was a pleasant enough sparkler, on the sweet side for my tastes, but clean, crisp, and a perfect start to the afternoon.
You can see the second bottle in the photo above, after its demise. The 2009 Torrontes, in the “entry” Varietals lineup of wines brought to market by Trapiche, uses another of the grapes cultivated by Trapiche. It came off a little muddled, but suitably fruity, and shows its place among the wines offered by this huge winery.
The Torrontes did, however, pair up nicely with the “appetizers” portion of the luncheon. All food, save dessert, was brought in from Hill Country. I have to admit that hearing Hill Country mentioned almost provokes a Pavlovian response, but I kept the drool in check — it was a wine education event, not a barbecue, after all.
Still, the chips and guacamole were as good as I’ve made myself, with lots of avocado chunks and a surprisingly tangy flavor. The guac was well in balance, and I sampled freely from the house-made chips.
Of course, with barbecued spicy wings, why not go with a simple, tame white wine that serves to cool the palate after this hot-pepper-laden chicken part? It’s tough to eat these cleanly, so I apologize to anyone I talked to for the condition of my face at the time of introduction. I very much enjoyed the heat, especially as it sneaked up on my palate, from the wings.
Not pictured, though you can see the aftermath, are the cornbread and dollop of honey-ancho chile whipped butter that disappeared in a flash.
After the last of the stragglers arrived, we sat at this elegant table, with the wines of the day lined up in camera-friendly groupings.
The first three malbecs were poured for us, ranging from the lower-end Varietals malbec, to the oak cask and somewhat more refined Broquel. As the Broquel tops out about $15 per bottle, all these are quite accessible and, as Trapiche is so big, fairly easy to find around town.
Carla talked at length about Trapiche’s reach in Argentina. While much of their thousand-plus hectares lie in the famed Mendoza appellation, Trapiche spans farmland from the 22nd through the 42nd parallel in the country; in other words, their vines are everywhere. And as much of the land is located in what’s really a desert (getting maybe 8 inches of rain per year), Trapiche has to irrigate, meaning they can micromanage the land pretty much to their hearts’ content, resulting in fairly fine-tuned grapes.
These first three malbecs were paired with the piles and piles of Hill Country barbecue brought in for the event. From left, the Varietals malbec (2009), the Oak Cask malbec (2008), and the Broquel (2008).
The Varietal, I found to be rather “mushy”; sharp plum notes, and a warm cloud of alcohol to envelop, but the earthiness kind of mashes all the flavors together. Still, for the price it’s decent to my palate. The Oak Cask, aged for 12 months in oak barrels, is brighter, fruitier and more focused, with a plummy-peppery nose, and the tannins rather rounded off to provide balance. I enjoyed this one even if it didn’t deliver the explosion of flavor I love finding in a malbec.
The Broquel, however, aged 15 months in oak (60% of the wine, anyhow; the other 40% stays in stainless), this one was a winner. The Broquel starts with a cherry nose mingling with the alcohol cloud, and an earthiness that doesn’t muddle things like in the Varietal, with spicy-peppery flavors and a big tannic presence. There’s more of a sharp contrast between the fruit and the spice here, and it’s more juicy and fruity than the previous wines. Plus, the oak stands out here, with some vanilla creeping in. Fortunately, Frederick Wildman does a great job of getting Trapiche into wine stores, so I’ll be picking this up this weekend!
We were encouraged to fill our plates with the wide assortment of Hill Country meats and sides provided by our hosts. Brisket, lean and moist, pork spare ribs, the famous Kreuz market hot sausage (mild were also offered), “White Shoepeg Corn Pudding”, Longhorn cheddar mac and cheese, and sweet potato bourbon mash graced my plate (I went back for more when virtually no one else dared). There was coleslaw, too, but I didn’t want to be a pig.
None of the food disappointed, though I was sad that so much was left over. I was in love with the ribs, but then I love them at the restaurant, too. The moist brisket? Some of the best in the city. Same goes for the hot link, though it’s far too spicy to pair with anything but more meat. The sides were more or less all right; I’ve been guilty of buying the mac and cheese too often on-site, and the corn pudding makes me think I’ve been hitting the wrong dishes all along — sweet, but not cloying, and just so tasty in every bite.
We were treated to pictures of Argentine barbecues, which involve a lot of slow, indirect cooking near open flames (no smoking of meat), and simple salt. Pictures of meat hung up “a la cruz” — on the cross — were kind of funny, but if I were invited to partake, oh you bet I would in a heartbeat. Tasty, tasty photos and descriptions.
The stars of the show, however, were these three single-vineyard malbecs. Starting with the 2003 grapes in 2005, Trapiche has held a contest of sorts every year, blind-testing the wines of their winemakers and choosing the best three for their very own bottling. The 2007 vintages were all on hand for us to taste, and showcased the huge variety a winemaker can achieve thanks to technique and terroir. I’m no wine expert, but my notes were as follows:
– Adolfo Ahumada: Big heady alcoholic nose in a cloud of spice, full and rich plum and berry flavors up front, then… poof — dry. Cleanest of the three.
– Domingo Sarmiento: Fruitier, and far less pungent than the Ahumada. Mildest of the three. The sweetest malbec of the afternoon, big plum and berry flavors, but still quite dry and lingering.
– Fausto Orellana de Escobar: Big, rough wine. Sharp alcoholic nose, a little licorice. Dominant alcohol, quite minerally, so very dry, though the character of the grape comes through almost as distinctly as the others. Wood shines through more than the other two. Of the three, the favorite.
After tasting the eight wines offered during lunch, plus of course the ton of barbecue and the enlightening wine talk, we weren’t exactly sent out empty-handed.
A bottle of each of the two Varietals we sampled, Torrontes and the Malbec, plus a wine towel and apron, bucket, and waiter corkscrew. Frederick Wildman and Sons really pulled out the stops to introduce Trapiche in-depth, and I was happy to be part of this event and able to taste the range of malbecs Trapiche brings to the United States.
Feisty Foodie says
This makes me so sad I couldn’t go.
Ben says
This is really, really well-written. Made me wish I had been there, and made me want to leave my job writing about boring things and find a new job writing about food and drink. Congrats.
Ben says
This is really, really well written. Made me wish I had been there, and made me want to leave my job writing about boring things and find a new job writing about food and drink. Congrats.
BeerBoor says
I appreciate the praise. So nice you said it twice!
Good luck with the well-paying writing gig. I’m paid in swag.
BlindBakerNYC says
Nice write-up, buddy!