Richard Booth of That Wine Place in Tewkesbury presented a very interesting evening of wines from Chile and Argentina, with a couple of strays from South Africa. The selection was interesting, with an unusual Torrontes being the star of the evening for me. We were fortunate to be able to taste two vintages of the Aromo Private Reserve Sauvignon Blanc and make a comparison with the 2010 vintage winning out.
The South African strays joined us as Richard didn’t feel that there were any ‘sparklers’ from Chile or Argentina that were suitable, instead he brought a couple from Graham Beck in the Western Cape region. Among the many interesting snippets of information that Richard entertained us with was that Graham Beck supplied the wine for the Toast at the Inauguration of President Obama – and that formal Wine tasting began in the fourteenth century.
As ever, the conversation flowed, discussions covering the differences between New Zealand and Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, the qualities of Torrontes, and the spectacular rise in popularity of Argentinian Malbec.
The wines tasted were:-
White
Aromo Private Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2009 & 2010, Chile (£8-49)
Zohar Torrontes 2009, Argentina (£10-99)
Aromo Barrel Select Chardonnay 2009, Chile (£12-99)
Red
Aromo Private Reserve Carmenere 2009, Chile (£8-49)
Terza Malbec , Argentina (£8-49)
Aromo Barrel Select Red, Chile (£12-99)
Sparkling
Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs 2006, South Africa (£14-99)
Graham Beck Brut NV, South Africa (£13-99)
Richard can be contacted at That Wine Place, 110 High Street, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 5JZ, 01684 292752 http://www.thatwineplace.co.uk
If anyone would care to add any comments/tasting notes, please do so in the comments and I will add them to these notes.
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Had a taste of the Zohar Torrontes 2009, Argentina (£10-99), very good it was too. Sorry I missed the evening.