Argentina's Vineyards Ripen
Malbec, torrontes and other wines are showing up on U.S. shelves, where consumers are finding them distinctive in flavor and affordable.

By CHRIS SHERMAN

Argentinian Wine Shopping List

Quick, what country is the fifth-largest wine producer in the world?

Hint: It's not in Europe or North America. Think south.

It's Argentina.

One reason that may come as a surprise is that Argentina also is one of the biggest consumers. Argentine vineyards produce half what the United States does, but its nearly 40-million people drink 8 gallons of wine per capita each year, which is four times what we do. So the fruits of Argentina's vines rarely left home.

Bonus round: Is there any Argentine wine besides malbec?

There needn't be, but definitely yes, and it's worth reading about and looking for.

For such a big country with so many vineyards, Argentina was relatively scarce in the world market and local shelves for a long time.

Most of the wine made and consumed at home was oceans of jug stuff from overcropped generic commodity grapes. Vino de mesa is the polite term, but it was just as good on the pampas or lunch in a parking lot; simple whites and rough-and-ready reds either tart and thin or so thick you could cut them with a gaucho knife, sometimes tougher than the steaks on the parilla.

Now after decades of dictatorship and isolation that further handicapped the wine industry, Argentina has new energy, modern know-how, extra care and a determination to follow Chile into the export market and pour for the world.

And as adventurous wine buyers are discovering, the country's best winemakers raise a new standard for Argentina's wine. Many of these wine families came from Sicily 100 years ago; now they're joined by corporate immigrants, big investors and partners from such established labels as Italy's Masi, Cheval Blanc in Bordeaux and Kendall-Jackson.

Argentina does not want to be simply the next country to win the questionable "I didn't know they made wine there but it's pretty good and darn cheap" accolade. Like many before them, the smart new generation of winemakers, such as Susana Balbo, Nicolas Catena and Jose Alberto Zuccardi, promises Argentine wines will be recognized for quality not quantity.

We'll be the ultimate judges of that, but the results of the past 10 years suggest these wines are on the right track.

And we won't object to the fact that even the better wines are at most $10 to $20 and good value at that. It's not $5 wine, but you can't blame them for trying to skip the bottom niche; instead, it's best and most available big labels, Trumpeter, Trapiche and Bodegas Norton, are usually between $5 and $10.

So if Argentina is not to be just another source of generic merlot and chardonnay, what distinctions can it offer? The two elements that great wine regions must have: a distinctive place and distinctive, even peculiar, grapes.

Being on the southern side of the equator is not unique; the Aussies, Chileans and South Africans pick in March, too. However, Argentina's vineyards are centered in the province of Mendoza and along the east side of the Andes, far from Buenos Aires and the big-city pollution of the Atlantic coast.

Zuccardi, whose family owns the Santa Julia Vineyards in Mendoza, toured Florida last month to promote his latest vintages, including a super premium line of oak-aged wines called Familia Zuccardi Q and priced at $20.

He made a strong pitch for Argentina's geography. "The mountains give us three things: the water, the mineral soil and the air and the breezes." It's near-desert, where the sun shines 300 days of the year, the air is pure and the chief water is snow melt from the Andes caught for irrigation. It is virtually free of pests, even the phylloxera louse is rarely seen.

With such sunlight, cool nights and ample water from the Andes, the growers' chief problem in the vineyards is too much growth. The Zuccardis have developed a system of arching parralas so that vines hanging overhead are constantly aerated by breezes. Other smart growers strive to cut back the leaves and reduce their harvest, so they will get fewer but better grapes.

The human environment is unique too: After the conquest, Argentina became a nation of immigrants, many of them from Spain and Italy. They brought a thirst for wine, and prized grapes from all over Europe to Argentina.

That gives Argentina the distinction many wine drinkers have already spotted: distinct varieties of grapes, most notably the dark, sturdy reds made from malbec.

In France, malbec is a traditional part of the Bordeaux blend, but a temperamental one nowhere as easy as merlot or rich as cabernet sauvignon. Under the Argentine sun, malbec has almost two more months to ripen its dark skin as well as its tannins. When carefully grown and well-made, the result is a thick, luscious wine, almost purple and full of blackberries and the darkest fruits. Well-made, it's remarkably soft when allowed to open up in the glass.

Malbec's just the beginning of the fun. Argentina grows cabernet and a dozen other odd reds, including the tempranillo of Spain and a perfumy bonarda, that may or may not be the same grape used in the best blends in Italy's Piemonte. Whatever its origins, dark and silky bonarda might evolve into Argentina's best red.

The white grape torrontes, which might be from Galicia or Portugal, is the most delicious surprise. At first sniff, it's full of flowers and spice like a gewurztraminer; in the mouth it can be as clean and racy as a dry riesling, yet it's round, full of peaches and maybe cinnamon, somewhat like viognier or albarino. And this is no high-priced oddity; it's an $8 treat for the refrigerator.

These ingredients - climate, grapes and a long winemaking tradition with strong European roots - are slowly coming together as they do for all New World wine regions that are still in relative youth.

Given the number of grape varieties that can grow there, the possibilities for blending are endless. Balbo has mixed bonarda with syrah and MASI has planted corvina, a great red grape of Valpolicella and blended it with malbec.

Zuccardi envisions a blend of malbec and tempranillo as Argentina's answer to the cabernet/shiraz of Australia, blending its signature grape with one of Spanish heritage.

Like California and the rest of the United States, Argentine winemakers are still exploring the vast western country, planting experimental vineyards to find sites that match each grape variety.

And given the strong winds and the fact that much of the land has not been farmed before, much of the land - and its grapes and wines - can be certified organic. "Air is the best pesticide," says Zuccardi; half his 1,400 acres of vineyards are now organic and the rest will be within five years.

Still, it will take many vintages for winemakers and wine lovers to sort out which regions are best for which wines. The vast majority of vineyards are now in Mendoza and the neighboring San Juan province. Along the Andes to the north are the warmer vineyards; to the south toward Patagonia, La Rioja has a few cool climate vineyards.

(U.S. shoppers needn't master the geography for now, except to know Maipu is a region in Mendoza, Maipo is in Chile.)

Instead, put your trust not in place names but in reliable producers: Look for Catena, Santa Julia, Balbo's Crios, Norton, Navarro Correas, Weinert and Trapiche. You can be certain there will be more good labels in the future.

Wine buyers who want to explore Argentine wines will often find them next to or mixed in with a larger selection of Chilean wines. You need not worry about vintages. As with Californians, they generally are good, with 2001 and 2002 well regarded; 1998 is to be avoided.

Malbecs and other reds are better with a few years on them. Torrontes, however, are best young.

Torrontes, Santa Julia, 2002 ($8): Big bouquet of flowers and herbs like gewurz or riesling, with a taste of peaches and a hint of licorice, honeyed texture, easy finish but still crisp. Great food wine, from Latin to Thai.

Torrontes, Crios de Susana Balbo, 2002 ($16): Inviting nose of honey and apricots, crisp taste but too much acidity and sharp on the finish. Indecisive: sweet and sour.

Bonarda/syrah, Crios de Susana Balbo, 2001 ($18): Thick and jammy in the nose and on the tongue, ripe with cherries and plums, chocolatey texture and hints of smoke, smooth with a long finish. Proof of life beyond malbec.

Malbec, Navarro Correas, 2000 ($12): Great aromas of cherries and earthy flavors that turn into a smooth ripe taste that's light on the tongue with a nice finish. Smooth operator. Best malbec of bunch.

Malbec, Gran Vecco, Reserva,2002 ($12): Exceptionally dark purple with a plummy nose and ripe fruit but taste is hampered by tough tannins and alcohol; quite dry. Out of the box too soon.

Malbec, Catena 2001 ($18): Smells of cherries with a whiff of alcohol but tastes like berries in the mouth, quite smooth. Worth the price -- and the wait.

Malbec, Faraon, 1999 ($10): Full flavored with ripe plums and berries from the aroma through to a pleasing. A big friendly wine that will get even more sociable.

Cabernet sauvignon, Faraon, 1999 ($10): Smells of plums, leather and smoke, but has a soft cherry taste and round texture. Cru bourgeois Bordeaux grown in Argentina by Italian immigrants.

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