Graffigna Wines

Here's a couple of wines from Graffigna in Argentina. I've written recently about the Pinot Grigio, and my amusement at an Italian grape and an Italian name coming from Argentina. This really shouldn't be surprising, since there was a lot of Italian emigration to Argentina, and roughly 60% of Argentinians have some Italian heritage. Italian is the second most spoken language in the country after Spanish.

South America has so many fascinating immigration stories, like South Asians in Trinidad and Tobago or the influx of Japanese in Peru, including former president Alberto Fujimori. But let's get back to the wine...

Graffigna was founded in 1870 by Italian immigrant Don Santiago Graffigna, and his wines were the first Argentine wines to be exported abroad. There's an interesting history with the introduction of trains and radio and the devastating earthquake of 1944.

Detail here

2009 Maldonado Chardonnay "Parr Vineyard"

Last year I reviewed this wine and it was perhaps the best Chardonnay I had tasted all year. I hope the 2009 vintage can get close to the quality of the 2007, which I rated at 95 points. For some reason the Maldonado's don't put the tech data on their website for the "Parr Vineyard" Chard. However, I believe the wine is a very small production and well in-demand, so they don't necessarily need to publicize it too much.

The nose on this wine is busrsting with exquisite aromas of baked golden delicious apple, fig, almond, quince, meyer lemon, stone fruit, creme brulee, and a slight touch of mineral. It's a fantastically complex bouquet and one that improves as the wine warms to room temperature.

2009 Valentin Bianchi Malbec

 It's been quite a while since I've reviewed a Malbec and it should really be interesting to see if I hold the same impressions that I have had in the last few years. I never really understood where all the "rage" about Malbec was coming from. Yes, I have had my fair share of decent Malbec's, but to be completely honest a lot of them fall short of what I call "really good" wine and even fewer make it on my list of "classic" wines.

Anyways, we'll see how this wine does in the disparagement of my theory.

The 2009 Valentin Bianchi Malbec is composed of 100% Malbec and was aged for 6 months in 2nd and 3rd use American and French oak barrels. The grapes were sourced from vineyards located in San Rafael, Mendoza.

The color of Malbec is typically very dark and almost black at the core of the glass, and this wine is of no exception. It has a very dark purple color with only the slightest variation of a deep red around the rim of the pour.