The wines were presented by Abi Mitton
(formerly Abi Sykes) of Buckingham Schenk www.buckingham-schenk.co.uk/
, who are an off trade wine
importer supplying supermarkets, off licences and wholesalers. We had a good turnout
of about 35 people, almost running out of chairs, for a good evening.
All the wines are from Vinalba which is
a large Argentinian producer; most of the wines can be found in Majestic, one
in Asda, and I’m not sure where the Rose can be found as I didn’t note it down.
Sorry about that.
Torrontes Selection 2013 – Mendoza. £7.99,
Majestic
Chardonnay reservado 2013, Mendoza. £8.99.
Majestic
Rose 2013. Syrah/Grenache, Mendoza
Malbec/Syrah 2012, Patagonia. £6.50,
Asda
Malbec reservado 2012, Mendoza. £11.99
Majestic
Cuvee Couture Malbec/Touriga £11.75
Majestic
Fifty Fifty Reservado 2012
Malbec/Cabernet/Sauvignon £11.99 Majestic
Malbec Gran Reservado 2011, Mendoza.
£15.99
The whites are both fine; if you want
something a little out of the ordinary, go for the Torrontes, as its got a good
balance of fruit and freshness, unoaked, and just a little residual sugar.
The Rose was OK, but the problem with
all Rosés is that they are very location sensitive – lovely in garden on a
sunny afternoon, less so in the library on a Thursday night…
The reds were all good, but the star
buy in terms of VFM has got to be the Malbec/Syrah from Asda, which is
definitely a steal at £6.50.
Also worth trying is the
Malbec/Touriga which blends one of the top Argentinian grapes with one of the
best Portuguese.
