Tag Archives: Uco Valley

60 Second Wine Review — Santa Julia Torrontes (Tasted Blind)

A few quick thoughts on the 2017 Santa Julia Torrontes from Mendoza, Argentina.

The Geekery

Santa Julia is made by the Zuccardi family who founded their winery in the Maipú region of Mendoza in 1963. Julia, the wine’s namesake, is the granddaughter of founder Alberto Zuccardi.

The family originally sold wine in bulk to larger producers until a financial crisis in the 1980s saw many of those bottlers go out of business. At this point, the Zuccardis moved towards bottling their own production.

Today the Zuccardis produce 2.2 million cases of wine from 1001 ha (2474 acres). The family’s vineyards are primarily in the Santa Rosa and Uco Valley sub-regions of Mendoza with 180 ha (445 acres) still in Maipú.

The Santa Julia line was created in the 1990s to highlight the diversity of Argentine wine. While there is a Malbec made, the brand features Viognier, Pinot grigio, Tempranillo, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon as well as Torrontes.

While the Zuccardis’ main Torrontes comes from the Salta region, the Santa Julia comes from the warmer Mendoza area. All the fruit for Santa Julia is sustainably farmed with several of the vineyards certified organic.

In addition to the Santa Julia and main Zuccardi brand, the family also produces wine under their Fusión label.

The Wine

Photo by Zeynel Cebeci. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-SA-4.0

Very fragrant orange blossom in this wine.

(Tasted blind as part of a Somm Select flight)

High intensity nose. Lots of orange blossoms and white peach notes. A little lychee and rose petal has me thinking Gewurztraminer.

On the palate, the wine is still fruit forward. No signs of minerality. Medium acidity and medium body. Slight oiliness on the mouthfeel. Maybe Albarino? Seems more New World. Short finish.

The Verdict

I ultimately went with an Oregon Gewurztraminer and was, of course, wrong. While the lychee and rose petal was on the nose, it didn’t carry through to the palate. Nor did it have the “spice” note that hints at Gertie.

At $10-14, the Santa Julia Torrontes won’t wow you with complexity but it is a tasty and refreshing drinker.

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60 Second Wine Review — Finca Flichman Dedicado

A few quick thoughts on the 2010 Finca Flichman Dedicado from Mendoza, Argentina.

The Geekery

Finca Flichman was founded in 1910 though its origins actually date back to 1893 when a Jewish immigrant from Poland, Sami Flichman, first planted vines in the Barrancas region of Maipú southeast of Mendoza.

In 1998 the winery was acquired by the Portuguese firm SoGrape where it is now part of a portfolio that includes the port houses of Sandeman, Offley and Ferreira as well as Mateus, Quinta de Azevedo, Quinta dos Carvalhais, Casa Ferreirinha, Herdade do Peso, Grão Vasco, Vila Regia, Silk & Spice and Gazela.

Outside of Portugal, SoGrape also manages the production and distribution of Bodegas LAN in Rioja, Chateau Los Boldos in Chile and Framingham in New Zealand.

For the Dedicado series, the wines are exclusively sourced from the high altitude vineyards of the Tupungato (averages 4200 feet) in the Uco Valley. Germán Berra is the winemaker with Italian enologist Alberto Antonini (of Frescobaldi, Antinori and Col D’Orcia fame) consulting.

The blend varies each year with the 2010 a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec and 5% Syrah. Around 1500 cases are made.

The Wine

Photo by Gorupdebesanez. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-SA-3.0

Lots of spice notes in this complex Cab blend–especially tobacco spice.

Medium-plus intensity nose. Very spicy with a mix of tobacco spice, black pepper and oak spices–allspice and clove. Underneath is some dark fruit like currant and plums.

On the palate the fruit becomes a tad more pronounced but the cornucopia of spices are still running the show with each one jockeying for favor as the wine evolves in the glass. Medium-plus tannins are firm but soften with around 45 minutes of air. Medium-plus acidity maintains freshness and balances the full-bodied fruit. Long finish ends on the spice–particularly tobacco.

The Verdict

This is a wine begging to be paired with a juicy prime-rib steak. It’s something worth savoring over the course of a long dinner.

For $30-35, this wine offers a lot of heft and depth. Truthfully, it is probably under-priced compared to equivalent quality wines from California and Washington.

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