Argento Wines

Last year I tried a Malbec from Argento Wine, but that was just one out of over two dozen bottles produced by the company. I got an opportunity to try five more recently, three of them representing grape varieties that are traditionally successful in Argentina.

2010 Argento Cool Climate Pinot Grigio
Mendoza
$13, 13% abv.
Slight musky nose and a bit of a dark honey flavor. Bone dry with a little crisp finish, and overall a deeper, darker form of Pinot Grigio. What does "cool climate" mean? It's not a strictly defined term, but they also have a regular Pinot Grigio. In this case, it refers to the high altitude valleys of Rivadavia and Uco in the foothills of the Andes. In other parts of the world you can have cool climate vineyards either through proximity to the poles (Canada, England) or cool ocean currents (Chile) or both (Tasmania). While most Pinot Grigios call for fairly weak food pairings, this one would be strong enough to stand up to a heartier pasta dish like spaghetti alla carbonara.

2010 Argento Torrontés
Procedencia Salta
$13, 13.5% abv.
This comes from way up north near the Bolivian border. Bright pineapple aroma, floral, mineral finish. Tart acidity. Medium body. This is a delicious, fascinating wine and is highly recommended. It would be a lot of fun to serve to someone who has never had a Torrontés before. Roast up a bunch of quail, lay out some figs and goat cheese, and have a blast.

2009 Argento Cabernet Sauvignon
Mendoza
$13, 13.5% abv.
Mild aroma of blackberries and cherry. It has a thin body with low fruit and low tannins, really restrained for a Cabernet Sauvignon. It's the only cab sav I've ever had that was light enough to pair really well with grilled salmon.

2009 Argento Bonarda
Mendoza
$13, 13.5% abv.
Big nose of raspberries and pomegranate. Tart red berry flavors, medium tannins, and a long finish. Bonarda is also known as Charbono in California, and originally comes from the Savoie region of France where it's called by names like Corbeau and Charbonneau. It's mostly been a blending grape, but as always, I find it interesting to taste these on their own. Like Malbec, it's a French grape that has really flourished in Argentina and is the country's second most planted grape.

2009 Argento Malbec Reserva
Mendoza
$16, 13.5% abv.
Dark plum and earth, with a touch of ash. Low tannins, a soft, round mouthfeel, and a balanced fruit flavor. Smooth and tasty now, but should be even better in a couple of years. Excellent bargain, and highly recommended for any red meat dish.


Note: These wines were received as samples.

2010 Argento Malbec

When I reviewed the 2009 Argento Malbec two years ago, the unique thing about this wine was the use of a QR Code on the back label. I wondered if it would catch on, and since then I've seen the little blocks everywhere, including on other brands of wine. (Though I'm always a little bothered to see them on the backs of buses and commercial vehicles...)

To update, I still don't use a smart phone, so I don't personally use these codes. However, I do see people using them a lot in the grocery store, or snapping a shot of one from the corner of a poster or advertisement.

As summer is winding down, we're entering the months when I crave heavier and darker reds. Time for slow braises and roasted root vegetables that warm the kitchen and make the entire house smell wonderful. Let's kick off red season with an Argentine Malbec.

2010 Argento Malbec
Mendoza (Luján de Cuyo, Tunuyán and Tupungato)
100% Malbec
$12, 13.5% abv.

Black cherry and chocolate with a firm tannic undertone. A little sour cherry flavor lingers on the finish for a long time. I preferred the 2009 Argento Malbec Reserva, and at just a few dollars more, it's a much better bargain. Still, this one would work well at a BBQ or with a casual burger.

Note: This wine was received as a sample.

2009 Argento Malbec

I fell in love early and hard with Argentine Malbec because of the generally great quality price ratio. QPR is going to vary from person to person, but in my experience a $10 Pinot Noir from anywhere is going to be a waste of your money while a $10 Malbec is going to be a decent middle-of-the-week, red meat wine. On the other hand, there are people who would never touch a pink wine under any circumstances, while there are those who happily shell out $100 for a bottle of Chateau d'Esclans Garrus. One site that focuses heavily on the importance of QPR is Dr. Debs' Good Wine Under $20.

Now back to the topic at hand...

2009 Argento Malbec
Mendoza, Argentina
$13, 13.9% abv.

Plum and prune, touch of spice, dark fruit flavor, medium tannins, slightly tart finish. As with many wines in this weight class, it smooths out with some breathing, though there's no need for hours of decanting. I found it to be a great match with a grilled lamb shoulder chop and a wedge of blue goat cheese. The name Argento is Italian for "silver", from the Latin argentum. The country Argentina was named after a combination of real and rumored silver deposits spoken about by early explorers.

This wine features a QR Code on a Cellar Key tag around the neck. Unlike scanning a one-dimensional UPC barcode (which isn't always useful without access to a centralized database), two-dimensional barcodes can contain a lot of custom information. It could carry a short message, or a web link, or an e-mail address. All sorts of things. Scan it with your smartphone, and you've got more information about the wine.

If you scan this 2D barcode, it reads
HTTP://SCN.BY/9T9AB0HTW8GNVU

That's a weirdly long shortcut to this page: http://www.thecellarkey.com/argento/malbec/

For those of you who regularly use these, check out my special message in the code at right.

This is the first time I've seen one of these on a wine bottle, but you can see these little patchwork quilts popping up all over the place these days. Unlike previous attempts like the CueCat, this doesn't require any proprietary equipment or software, so anyone can create a 2D barcode and more and more phones are able to read them. From a design standpoint I hope these stay off the fronts of labels, but they could be amazing for the back of the label. A quick scan, and you can scroll through brix and harvest dates and oak types and specific grape/vineyard percentages, tons of detailed information that's not useful to 95% of the wine buying population.


Note: This wine was received as a sample.

Argento Malbec

Malbec was a grape that I fell in love with early in my wine self-education. So many of the Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots that I could afford were not that great, not to mention some of the terrible Pinot Noirs that I purchased for under $10. Truly some of the finest red wines in the world come from the classic giants, but in Argentine Malbec I found red wines of great balance and tremendous flavor that were inexpensive, ready to drink now, and outstanding with the simple delight of a grilled ribeye.

Argento was founded in 1998 in the Mendoza region of Argentina, and I've had the chance to try many of them over the years, and of course for this tasting I used my special Riedel Malbec glass.

2012 Argento Malbec
Mendoza, Argentina
100% Malbec
$13, 13.9% abv.

Initial aromas of black cherry and a touch of pepper, a little leather, and just a touch of spice on the finish. Tart raspberry acidity and firm tannins mean that this one benefits from a good decanting before serving. Excellent with a rustic grilled lamb dish.

2011 Argento Reserva Malbec
Mendoza, Argentina
100% Malbec
$17, 13.9% abv.

The reserve version displayed a big dark plum profile with touches of leather, coffee, and chocolate. Medium tannins and a bold finish. I loved the balance and complexity of this one, and for $17, it is an outstanding bargain. Grill up the biggest Porterhouse you can find and top it with some herbed butter before serving.

Note: These wines were provided as samples for review.