October 23 Wine of the Month Tasting

OCTOBER WINE OF THE MONTH TASTING



Saturday, October 23rd

5:30 - 7:30

Open to the public



October Wine of the Month Selection: LaPosta Malbec Pizelli Family Vineyard, Mendoza Valley, Argentina '08



In the late 19th century, Argentine farmers brought over a red grape called Malbec from Southwestern France. In the course of the next century they planted it so widely in their own country that it would become the real backbone of their entire wine culture.



Malbec's original home in southwestern France is the Cahors region, roughly 100 miles southeast of Bordeaux. In Bordeaux itself, Malbec has long played a relatively minor role in the famous blends known in the English speaking world as Claret. This lesser role wasn't always the rule, however. Before the phyloxera epidemic in the latter half of the 1800's, Malbec was much more prominent in the vineyards of Bordeaux than it is today. Perhaps more surprisingly, Bordeaux's wines were referred to as "Claret" because of their relatively "clear" appearance next to the extremely dark and inky, as well as popular, wines of the Cahors region. Bordeaux was a major shipping port before it was a major wine region and most of the wines that it shipped north to England were from its more popular neighbor, Cahors. Until the 18th century, Cahors was the more famous and more sought after of the regions by a good stretch and the wines of Bordeaux were sort of tag alongs that filled shipments of Cahors.



Today, Bordeaux seems to be at the summit of international popularity with correlating pricing that is very rapidly spiraling out of control. We've seen the 2009 futures offering and the prices for the top rated wines from Bordeaux were simply astronomical. Several producers were asking more than $20,000 per 12 bottle case. That's our whole-sale, prepay before shipment cost! To be sure, especially among the wine community, the backlash is in full effect.



There are certainly still great wines produced in some of the lesser known satellite appellations of the right bank, where land is cheaper and the choice to make more individualistic and idiosyncratic wines isn't near the risk that it is in the choicest and most expensive parts of the region. Some of my favorites come from areas like Cote de Castillon and Lalande-de-Pomerol where they very best producers won't demand more than $50-$60 a bottle in retail. Eric Asimov recently wrote a good piece in The New York Times, highlighting some of the better, smaller, traditional producers all over the region but, unfortunately, many of the wines he discusses either aren't available in Missouri or are in such excruciatingly small quantities that they prove just a frustrating tease.



Fortunately, the neighboring region of Cahors seems poised for something of a resurgence in popularity. There are several good producers that make wines at true value prices. Some of these wines rival the most interesting wines of Bordeaux at a fraction of the price. We've recently poured Chateau Cedre's "Heritage" Cahors bottling which aims and hits at a dark and spicy flavor profile that's pretty classic for the region, perhaps with a touch of the animal. Contrasted with my favorite, Clos La Coutale, which is perhaps the single greatest red wine value in the world. Clos La Coutale is softer and more sumptuous with intense blue fruits, extraordinary violets and garden aromas, earth, balance and grace. It ages indefinitely. I've heard of 20 and 40 year old bottles drinking gloriously although, I haven't had the opportunity to try them myself.



Argentine Malbec is something of a different beast. Its intense recent popularity and relative affordability combine to create a lot of excitement among value conscious consumers. With the proliferation of options - starting with Catena and their offshoot labels and even including a lot of really small scale producers - there are plenty of good offerings in say the under $20 retail range. But if I have a concern regarding this category, it's that this mass of wines doesn't offer real distinctions among its different wines. I don't think that this is because Malbec, as a grape, isn't site-expressive anymore than Cabernet Sauvignon isn't site-expressive. But generally in this category the wines seek to express the soft, fleshy, fruity qualities that have solidified the popularity of the grape - too often at the expense of any unique expression.



On the opposite and much smaller end of the Argentine Malbec spectrum are the best producer's top end bottling. These more often aim to express the qualities of their very high elevation origins. These wines tend to be more powerful and brooding, certainly interesting and unique wines but not to my everyday drinking tastes.



LaPosta is a producer that I've admired for a long time because of the balancing act that they achieve when it comes to matching everyday drinkability and strong and unique-site-expression. The winery is the kind of project, that while rooted heavily in tradition and small scale farming, is a uniquely contemporary phenomena. Modeled, perhaps, on a co-op which traditionally might buy many grower's produce and blend it all together to create a marketable but rather anonymous wine, LaPosta refines this process. They are more like a negociant than only makes site-specific wines, ie. no village wines or Mendoza Rouge here. They work with families like the Pizellis who farm on too small of a scale to be really viable wine producers in their own right. Through long term contracts they make the wines for these families and each of their bottlings is highly site expressive and as individual in nature as you would expect from the top end Argentine bottlings. But, at the same time, their wines are really approachable and drinkable as you might find in other great value offerings. More so, their balance and textures run more rustic like you might expect from a contemporary French country wine, maybe even a good bottle of Cahors.



We hope to see you Saturday at the LaPosta Malbec wine tasting.



Cheers!



written by Barry Tunnell