Obviously, there is lag. Blame The 100. For week 3, I picked wines from Argentina and Chile, countries I have never visited. Let’s get into it!
Wine 1: Domaine Bousquet 2019 Malbec
Demographics. Grown and produced in the Tupungato Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina. Vegan and organic. 14.1% alcohol. 375ml bottle.
Why I chose it. I didn’t do much research before heading to the wine shop. I actually bought my Week 3 wines and one of my Week 2 wines at the same time. I wanted to keep it one white, one red for this week. I happened upon this wine as I was browsing. I saw that the wine was vegan and organic which was interesting to me. Wine itself is vegan but egg whites or fish bladders are sometimes used for filtering. I don’t make a big deal out of vegan or organic when it comes to wine but being that this challenge is about trying new wines, I thought it would give it a try. Plus the 375ml bottle meant that I’d only have to deal with it for two glasses if I didn’t like it.
Tasting notes. Purple with a medium body. At 14.1%, I’m not surprised that I could smell the alcohol on the nose! I also got a touch of smoke (tobacco?) and some red fruit. On the palate, I got light-medium tannins and low acidity. Red fruit was in there as well. In general, I find that I’m not as good at discerning aromas in red wines as I am with whites. If the alcohol is high, I get that more than anything else.
Food pairing. I paired this wine with some vegetable fajitas. When I do food and wine pairings, I’m always expecting something in the palate to change. I’m usually looking for the tannins to soften and the fruit aromas to come forward more. I didn’t get that with this wine but it didn’t change for the worst either.
Would I recommend it? If you’re looking for a vegan red wine and don’t want the whole 750ml, this is a good one.
Wine 2: Estación 2019 Sauvignon Blanc
*I forgot to take the glass photo for this one…*
Demographics. Produced by the Estampa Family Estate in the Colchagua Valley Wine region in Chile. 13.5% alcohol.
Why I chose it. Again, I didn’t go into the wine store with much of a game plan. That might be odd for COVID times but whatever. This one caught my eye as I was browsing. I haven’t had much wine from Chile, if any I thought maybe it would be similar to a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. My logic is likely faulty but I was thinking that they’d be similar because both countries are located in the southern hemisphere. I did do some research and found that Marlborough and Colchagua Valley are both cooler climates.
Tasting notes. The wine was a pale yellow color and light-bodied. Passionfruit/tropical fruit and citrus were prominent on the nose. I also detected a little green apple. The palate was tropical fruit and citrus with light-moderate acidity. As I suspected, it was very similar to the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs I had previously tried. Not complaining at all!
Food pairing. I had this with blackened salmon one night. I liked it. I would really like to get better at pairings. Maybe that’s my next project! The 100 will be over next week so the editorial calendar will be wide open!
Would I recommend it? Yes! If you don’t know, I’m a sucker for Sauvignon Blanc, especially if they have tropical notes. I like acidic foods anyway so it makes sense that I would gravitate towards acidic wines. For you acid intolerant folks, you might want to steer clear.