The UnCorker

2005 d’Arenberg Grenache The Derelict Vineyard McLaren Vale

From one of Australia’s most venerable producers, this Grenache comes from a a vineyard that had been planted in the 1960’s, but had fallen into disuse; neglected and used as a horse paddock for over two decades, d’Arenberg has slowly reclaimed the vineyard, and the result is this lovely Grenache. The 2005 jumps out of the glass with a lifted aroma of juicy berries and vanilla and follows with a concentrated blast of dark voluptuous fruit and savory spices- this is juicy and beguiling stuff, at once fresh and young, but also dense and chewy-really shows what a bit of age can do for the vines. Spends time in 1-3 year old American oak barriques. Drinking well right now, it would be great to cellar a case and drink it over the next few years just to see how it unfolds- a tremendous value.

2006 Terrazas de los Andes Reserva Malbec

Originally a Bordeaux grape, Malbec doesn’t get a lot of respect from the Borderlaise these days, in its last redoubt, the Bourg and the Blaye, vignerons have been uprooting Malbec and planting Merlot. Still a minor figure in the Loire Valley, where it is called Cot, it is quickly losing ground to Cabernet Franc. In the Southwest of France, it is still a presence, particularly from the rugged vineyards of Cahor- long known by the English as “the black wine” Cahors can be a mighty and long-lived wine- It is in Argentina where Malbec is king; it is in America that it has become ubiquitous- wine bars and shops, restaurants and dinner parties are replete with the stuff, for better or worse it is the Merlot of the new decade. Value priced at most quality levels, the quality variation is significant, and price isn’t a good determinant- Mendoza is the region, and most of these wines we are told come from altitudes between 400 and 1200 meters. Perhaps thats why to us at The UnCorker, so many Malbec’s taste a bit green and underripe. Malbec can be over-cropped and underripe, and still achieve fairly high sugar levels, making for a wine that, at least initially, has abundant fruit and alcohol. Add some  new oak to that and you have a big jammy wine that masks a bunch of scratchy under-ripeness, green pepper and harsh reedy tannins .  Thats where the 2006 Terrazas de los Andes Reserva Malbec comes in, grown at 1067 meters, with 13.5% alcohol, and 12 months in new oak, this wine sure does soak the fun out of wine drinking with its toasty oak, big dark fruit flavors and all of those under-ripe aspects. We at The UnCorker are sure that a time will come when the American market will stop buying anything that has Malbec written on the label(as in fact has been the case with Australian Shiraz) and make those Argentinians rethink their viticultural standards and practices.

* Editorial Note- we apologize if we have given the impression that no good Malbecs are made in Argentina, there are and we will surely write of them, however we spent good money on the above mentioned and were feeling both peeved and vexed.

2005 Montessu Agricola Punica

The second wine from Agricola Punica, an undertaking between world renowned names in the winemaking business, Agricola Punica is a joint venture between Dr. Sebastiano Rosa, Sardinian winery Cantina Sociale di Santadi, Tenuta San Guido, Santadi President Antonello Pilloni and legendary Tuscan consulting oenologist Giacomo Tachis.These are giants in the Italian wine world, and they recognized what the Romans already knew two thousand years ago- Sardinia is an ideal place for growing quality wine.Tachis and the winery Santadi have believed in the potential of Carignano, perhaps better known throughout the Mediterranean as Carignan, its French name, or in Spain, Carinena, a major grape in the blends of Priorat, and common throughout the Languedoc, it likes hot and dry, but to achieve greatness it also needs the moderating effects of the Mediterranean and  cool nights to  achieve acidity and aromatic complexity.

Montessu is little sister to Barrua, a blend of Carignano, Cabernet and Merlot- polished and modern, it’s the little sister that we at The UnCorker really love to drink-Carignano at its best is plush and purply, with rich spicy fruit and a lifted aroma that is so warm and fresh, great with beef, lamb or that Sardinian favorite, goat(they eat horses and donkeys, don’t they?) Montessu is all that, with an intriguing blend of baking earth and herbs-