Malcolm Jolley tries wines from Patagonia…
Last October I met in Toronto the export manager for an extraordinary winery in Argentina: Eduardo Piccolo Antonini from Bodega Noemia. Noemia is located in Rio Negro Valley in Patagonia, the river, which flows with cold mountain water from the Andes creates a micro climate in the valley, Antonini explained at a private tasting at my office, in an otherwise arid landscape. The area was a favourite place of escape of an Italian wine heiress, the Countess Noemi Marone Cinzano, who noticed vineyards. She invited the famous Bordeaux by way of South Africa oenologist Hans Vinding-Diers to look at the old Malbec vines, and together they established Bodega Noemia, which garnered acclaim quickly. Vinding-Diers eventual took over sole control, making wines that challenge preconceptions about Argentine wine. Antonini poured the four wines below, two of which have only recently become available through Noemia’s Ontario agency, The Case For Wine.
The first wine was the 2019 ‘A Lisa’ Semillon ($34.95 at The Case For Wine), named for Vinding-Diers’ mother. Zippy acidity and tangy citrus (lime) notes and touch of grassiness. Antonini explained only 750 cases of it are made a year from a small planting. Next was the 2018 ‘A Lisa’ Malbec ($35.95 at The Case For Wine), which was a shocker, in the best possible way. Fresh, floral and full of purple fruit like plums, the A Lisa Malbec, which includes a touch of Merlot and a tiny dash of Petit Verdot, reminded me of the mineral driven wines of the ‘Causses’ highlands in Cahors. It’s full of energy and has a firm structure to match its fruit, so it’s built to last, though a pleasure to drink now. Antonini called A Lisa “future of Malbec”, and I think he’s right. Next we moved on to the 2018 ‘J. Alberto’ Malbec ($49.95 – not currently available), named after the Bodega’s farm manager and sourced from a single old vines site, planted in 1955. Certified organic, the vineyard is farmed bio-dynamically and a third of the wine is elevated in concrete eggs to make less than 1,000 cases. It was in exceptional balance, full of black and blue fruit, including cassis and blackberry. Finally we tasted the 2017 Bodega Noemia Malbec ($164.95 – not currently available). Only less than 400 cases are made of this 100% Malbec wine from vines planted in 1932 and fermented in specially made open top oak vats. The ’17 was intense with black fruit and violets, with smooth tannins and a touch of oak.
