“The land of the sun and good wine, that of the infinite Andes.” This is how Argentines call Mendoza, how they sing to Mendoza. Approximately 1 hour flight from Santiago de Chile crossing the imposing mountain range of the Andes, is the City of Mendoza, capital of the homonymous province. A very short but truly spectacular journey. The majesty of the mountain range seems to have no end, in any direction the only thing that can be seen is a myriad of snowy peaks and the occasional glacier lagoon, which appear as small blue spots on an eternal white and brown background. Of course, the icon of the Andes cannot be misses, the Aconcagua. The highest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas, the peak king of America that according to the pilot we visualized on the left side, where fortunately I was so I did not have to stop as it did half the plane…. Its beauty is the best welcome to feel closer to Argentinian soil.
Seeing this immense, rugged and at the same time beautiful landscape reminded me of the tragedy and miracle of the Andes, when back on the early 70’s, a plane on which a Uruguayan Rugby team was flying from Montevideo to Santiago, crashed in the middle of the mountain range. Obviously a tragedy because many of the passengers died, but at the same time a miracle since after spending more than 10 days walking in that infinite white and without knowing where, two of the survivors, Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa (the latter, candidate for the Presidency of Uruguay more than 20 years later), found the Chilean muleteer Sergio Catalán, who in his humble horse went to seek for help. Finally, after 72 days of the accident, 16 of the 45 people who were on this plane managed to be demoted. My recommendation is to read the book “Live” from the Englishman Piers Paul Read, where the details of this accident are told. For the less readers, there is also the movie starring Ethan Hawke.
Back to our trip to Mendoza, and once installed in a central City Hotel, we went to visit our first Winery, “La Rural”. Founded by Felipe Rutini in 1885, in addition to its historical importance, La Rural is also famous because of the Wine Museum. Located in the same house where Don Felipe lived more than 130 years ago, it is a very interesting place where you can appreciate all kinds of utensils, containers, vessels, machines and even old carriages, used by the first Italian immigrants to make their wine, the pioneers of this wonderful Argentine industry that is today.
After visiting the museum, we toured the San Felipe vineyard where we could see closely the varieties grown there, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Later we took a short tour to the winery to appreciate grape selection and the winemaking process. To end the visit, we were invited to a delicious picnic lunch paired obviously with some of the best Wines from the Rutini Winery (plus a powerful Grappa to lower the fullness). There, we were received by Mariano Di Paola himself, chief winemaker of the Winery. Passionate about making the best wine and a world legend in the field. Not for nothing is considered one of the 30 best winemakers on the planet. Besides everything, as are the real greats, a great guy….
The menu contained asparagus with ham, a variety of Argentine empanadas, roasted lamb skewers with dauphine potatoes and to finish, a delicious dessert of oranges with lemon crumble.
What about the wines: we started with a Trumpeter Extra Brut. Made with Chardonnay grapes and produced with the Champenoise method, this sparkling wine have aromas of apple, peach and brioche. Very fresh and with very persistent bubbles, ideal for the heat of that day.
Then we tried my favorite of the day, an Anthology ?? (I even took a bottle home to my personal cellar), a Malbec and Petit Verdot Blend. Aged 18 months in oak barrels, it is truly exceptional. Very intense red color and some floral combined with smoky aromas, it is a wine with a taste that remains pleasantly in the mouth for a long time. Made only once, the wines of the Anthology collection are unique and unrepeatable. The bottles are of limited production and all are numbered. If I’m not mistaken, Anthology is already in its XLV edition.
From the wonderful Anthology we pass to the super top wine of the winery, Felipe. Chosen as one of the best 50 Wines of South America of all times, it was baptized in homage to Don Felipe Rutini, being the first Argentine wine to have a proper name on the label, a very common practice now in most wineries. A blend made of Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon and with a 24-month aging in first-use oak barrels, it is truly extraordinary. It has an intense ruby color, very intense aromas of red fruits and with hints of vanilla, chocolate and spices. A wine with a lot of body and structure and with a potential guard of more than 20 years.
Finally and to pair the dessert we tried a naturally sweet Rutini. Blend of 4 white varieties, Verdicchio, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillón and Gewürztraminer, this wine is the product of a late harvest together with the action of the Botrytis Cinerea. Late harvest basically refers to the over-ripening of grapes on the vine to concentrate sugars while Botrytis Cinerea is the action of a fungus that dehydrates the grape which also increases its level of sugars. The result, a wine with floral, apple and honey aromas. Sweet but at the same time with a very peculiar softness.
Oh, and as I mentioned before, to finish we had a very good Grappa, made from the distillation of the pomace of the Malbec grapes.
All these magnificent Wines (and Grappa) made by Di Paola. An original and extraordinary sensory experience that is worth repeating again and again. In the words of Mariano Di Paola, “the best harvest is always the next one” …