Day 120 - Mendoza, Argentina

Time for our first wine tour of Mendoza today but not before we check out, travel to Mendoza city and check into a new hotel. We did all this and even managed to squeeze in complimentary breakfast at our new hotel before our 8:30 pick up. They even have brownies for breakfast. What a result. 

The plan today is to set off to Uco Valley which is high up in the Andes, 100km south of Mendoza and apparently the future of wine in the region for reasons I will explain later. Our guide Lorena, is brilliant and really knowledgeable which means I have stolen lots of her facts such as; there are over 1200 vineyards in Mendoza, 80% of the wine produced in Argentina is from here, it is perfect wine growing conditions here as they have 300 days of sunshine per year but interestingly Mendoza is actually classified as a desert. All the water comes from the mountains in amazing irrigation systems that have been built that even flow right into the city. Every street has a little man made water way between the road and pavement which makes crossing the street an exercise in long jump. The water used is also highly regulated and controlled by the government here which sets rules about when you can water and even how much water you can use per acre. 

As we make our way to the Uco valley Loreta explains why it is growing in such importance as a wine region. It's mainly because as it is so high it experiences greater extremes of temperature change per day - hot per day and cold by night - between 15-20 degrees difference. As a result the skins of the grapes grow thicker resulting in better and more tastier wines. It is so a fairly new area for wine growing only 10-15 years old as no one thought growing wine at altitude was feasible before. Little did they know!

Our first stop is at a vineyard called Andeluna which at 2m bottles per year is deemed a mid size winery. It has the most epic setting underneath the snow capped Andes with the fields of grapes rolling off into the distance. 

After a tour of the vineyard, processing plant and cellar and yet another explanation of how wine is made we get to the good bit - the tasting. 

We have four tastings each, two of the young range (meaning last years wine), one medium and one older reserve one. I had the Torrentes 2013 which was easily my favourite white of the day followed by the delicious Malbec. I have completely changed my view on Malbec since coming to Argentina. 

Nat had the Chardonnay then Cabernet Sauvignon. Next up was a 2012 Merlot for me and 2012 Malbec for Nat. Finally we had the gorgeous Cuatro Crepas 2007 which was a four grape blend. 

 

Awesome panorama of the vineyard. 

The cellar. 

One of the biggest production plants we have seen. This is what 2m bottles of wine looks like. 

Such amazing scenery from the sofas where we do our tasting. 

What becomes apparent after our first tasting is that we have actually got a pretty good tour group. There are 10 of us in total. 4 people from Brooklyn, New York (separate couples), a couple from Texas and two girls from the mighty Norwich who are chefs in the restaurant opposite the Belgian Monk. More on the characters of the group later but needless to say one of the guys from New York was quintessential American (an over confident, loud know it all) that I actually started to collect hilarious quotes from throughout the day. More later. 

The second stop is five minutes down the road at a place called La Azul which is a tiny little vineyard that only produces 

40k bottles, one of the smallest in the region. 

Tastings here were; Sauvignon Blanc that was voted one of the best in the region but unfortunately you can only buy it here as they only produce 4k bottles per year. The second was a tasty 2013 Malbec which they produce 15k bottles and was quite strong. The thicker skins here mean wines tend to be stronger due to them having more sugar. It was also produced with no oak barrel. 

The third tasting was a Cabernet Sauvignon which they produce 15k bottles of per year. Finally we taste a Reserve blend from 2010 which was 60% Malbec 40% Sauvignon. The tour guide here was hilarious as he had also spent a lot of time in Brooklyn so had a weird spansish / Brooklyn accent. 

He then takes us to the production area and we have a first for us when wine tasting - tasting wine straight from he barrel. The wine which is a Gran Reserve consisting of 65% Malbec 35% Sauvignon won't be fully matured until 2016. Still tasted good though but that's coming from a guy who spent years drinking lambrini from the bottle in Scholars in Coventry!

Like shooting fish in a barrel. 

Amazing skies. 

The Azul collection. 

Lovey old car parked outside. 

The third and final stop was Salentein which is one of the largest producers in the area. The place is swish. Clearly a lot of money here. We find out that they also happen to own the wine called Portillo which we have had a lot in Argentina (which makes sense as they produce 6m bottles per year). 

It had one of the most amazing cellars we have seen which had a piano in the middle where they play a charity concert each year which must have sounded amazing down there. 

Where they produce the good stuff. 

Now what I didn't know is that the group were in for a right surprise when Nat sits down and plays a song called tarantella on the piano absolutely flawlessly. I am the most shocked in the room as I never even knew she could play! A round of applause later we carry on with the tour. 

One of the most amazing tables you will ever see. Pure marble but looks like cork, it weighs 6 tons and had to be craned in before they built the roof. 

Back outside its time for lunch and tastings in the gorgeous restaurant, Killka, with huge floor to ceiling windows providing a panoramic view of the mountains. Can't think of a better spot for lunch. 

The lunch was amazing too. A four course meal with delicious empanadas to start and a huge steak for main. Yet more steak for me. 

As lunch goes by we start to see the odd bee flying around outside, followed by a few more, then a few more. Before we knew it the biggest swarm we have ever seen was all over the window. Apparently they had had an event outside there yesterday and the smell of wine was attracting them. Unbelievable sight and amazing that we could get right up close to see them through the window. 

Ruining the view!

They seemed to be setting up camp in the barrel. Worst places to live I guess. 

Right enough of those as they are still making me itch. 

The wines we tasted with lunch were really good as well. We had a mixture of Premium and young starting with the Chardonnay, then a Pinot noir, the Numina 2012 (a blend) and finishing up with the gorgeous Primus Malbec 2011. 

Cool magic eye picture made up of Argentinian flags. 

Now I mentioned earlier about the obnoxious, loud, over confident, opinionated, rude, very obese and annoying American dude on our tour and I must share some of the hilarious crap that came out of his mouth. Firstly I need to help you build up a picture in addition to the descriptors above. He was an ex litigation lawyer and had this intensity in his stare and way he spoke that oozed "I know far more than you will ever know, I don't care what you say - I am right and I love the sound of my own voice". Any words we said literally just filled the space between when he spoke again. In fact, he didn't actually speak to you at all. He shouted at you. 

When it came to getting seated round the big table for lunch, guess which unfortunate, innocent Brits had the pleasure of sitting right opposite him....,, 

Here are some examples I collected throughout the lunch, there are many. 

When the winery tour guide explained times were tough and the harvest wasn't going to be good this year he shouted "I'll buy half of your production RIGHT NOW. Seriously. I'LL DO IT. I trade wine futures". 

To emphasise what a 'Charlie big potato' he is (in addition to business class travel and five star hotel chat) he comes out with "I used to be a big gambler. I used to bet real big. $500 per hand."

Such an idiot. 

Others include. 

Aaron: "What do you do for a living?"

Guy: "My job is really stressful. I'm a litigation lawyer. I f@ck people up for a living". 

Guy "What did you think of the Chardonnay?" 

Nat: "It's OK, my Mum absolutely loves Chardonnay".

Guy (barks): "It's buttery vanilla SHIT. I hate Chardonnay". 

Lots of chat about his son and what a "great investor" he is such as:

"My son is a BRILLIANT financial analyst"

"Debt is good financial planning. When you can borrow at 4 and invest at 8". 

"What do I do now? I play the market. Last year I earned a return of 16%" 

16% my arse. Warren Buffet doesn't even achieve that let alone this numpty. 

Back to the conversation - out of nowhere (think the conversation was about England or something): 

"My friend owns a castle. It's huge". 

On Mendoza restaurants (getting increasingly louder):

"Francesca's. Home made pasta. Home made. HOME. MADE. Go to it."

He was a bloody know it all about wine as well sticking he fat snout into the glass and theatrically swilling it around his mouth before he unleashes all sorts of bull shit comparisons and descriptors. 

Time for tea and coffee after dinner:

Guy: "why do you drink tea from tea bags? Tea bags have paper. Paper makes it tastes like SHIT. I only use leaves". 

His worst part of the day was the rudest reaction to a poor waitress for not understanding him (as he was clearly not speaking her native tongue in her native land). Apparently he HATES Pinot Noir and is not afraid to tell the whole restaurant. We were cringing that others thought he might actually be with us. After the waitress hilariously brings him another glass of Pinot thinking he just wanted another one he blows his top and is so rude. I thought I would step in when he thrusts it back at her and go over the top about what amazing wine the Pinot Noir is and how it is my favorite. Result - an extra glass for me. God knows what this guy would do if someone actually insulted him properly? I am thinking of sending him a bottle for Christmas for the crack. 

On growing up:

Guy: "Growing up in Brooklyn was real tough". 

Me: "I can imagine". 

Him (shouting obviously): "YOU CANT IMAGINE. You don't know shit".

Me: "Course I do. I've seen all five series of the Sopranos". 

Onto recreation:

"I learnt how to fly. Learnt in 5 lessons. I'm a fast learner".

Guide: "Would you like to go to the shop?" 

Him: "The shop? Why would I? I can get everything here cheaper from my distributor at home?"  That told her. Obviously £3 per bottle is too expensive for him. 

 

Longest lunch of our lives!!! To top it all off he asks to have his left over beef wrapped up to take home. He was obviously "still working on that"

Right. Must stop going on about this guy now. It's turning into a special report just about him. 

We get back at about 6:30pm and are pretty hung over by now. After needing to change rooms twice (not having the best of luck with hotels this week) we have a catch up with Caroline and Dave and a little nap. We go out for a walk later but only stay out for an hour as it's well past bedtime for us. Great day though.