Montauk Club Wine Class Travels to South America in November

On November 12, 2009, the Montauk Club Wine Class took a whirlwind tour through Argentina and Chile, and what a ride it was! We started out comparing a 2008 MontGras Reserva Carmenère from Colchagua Valley, Chile (Chile's signature grape at 14.5% alcohol!) with a 2007 Lapostolle Casa Merlot (13% alcohol) from Rapel Valley, Chile. Then we tangoed on to Argentina to compare its signature malbec -- a 2006 Luigi Bosca Reserva (14% alcohol) from the Mendoza region -- with a 2007 Navarro Correas Coleccion Privada Cabernet Sauvignon (13.9% alcohol), also from the Mendoza region. In a rare experience for the wine class, perhaps thanks to the great tasting notes that Jim prepared ahead of time, we unanimously correctly identified each wine in our blind tasting. Here's what we thought:

Both of the Chilean wines had a deep, inky and opaque purple color with lots of legs, although wine #2 was a tad less viscous than #1. That's where the similarities ended, however. Wine #1 had a milder more medicinal aroma -- not particularly distinctive and more delicate than its looks. Wine #2, on the other hand, shouted aromas of chocolate, vanilla and plum against a background of woods and brambles. The smells carried through to the flavors as well. Wine #1 was light and elegant and made for easy drinking. It had a slight hit of tannin but otherwise was bright and soft. Wine #2 was quite a bit rounder and fuller in flavor with a spicy finish. Though it appeared less viscous, it had a much bigger taste with notes of toasted herbs. Its rounder flavor gave it a smoother feel, but we could definitely taste the higher alcohol content. Our conclusion: Wine #1 was the merlot, and wine #2 was the carmenère.

Our trip to Argentina started out in a similar fashion as both wines had a deep, inky purple color. The legs on wine #3, however, took a bit longer to form. Wine #4 had thin gams, as they say. Again, these wines diverged when it came to smell. Wine #3 smelled of vanilla, pepper and coffee, while wine #4 was more savory with herbs, olives and raisins dominating the aroma. These were quite distinguishable in taste, as well. Wine #3 was fruitier and sweeter and had a soft feel. In wine #4, the olives that we smelled came through in the taste big time. This wine was spicier with tannins showing up in the finish. While we thought wine #3 would be good with hard cheese and was something we might keep drinking through dessert, we thought both wines cried out for meat. Because of the distinct tannins in wine #4, we correctly identified it as the cabernet sauvignon. Wine #3, of course, was the malbec which also took the prize for being the favorite of the night.

At our next class on December 17, we'll celebrate the holidays in sparkling style with four offerings: a Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne, a Veuve-Clicquot Ponsardin Brut Champagne, a Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut Cava from Spain and a LaMarca Prosecco from Italy. So don't miss our European holiday extravaganza.

I hope to see you all on December 17 around sevenish!! Plan to stay for dinner. And don’t forget to look up past tasting notes on montaukwineclub.blogspot.com and on the Club’s revamped website.

Suzy Marquard