From Jo Eames:

Andrew (Maidment from Wines of Argentina) took us out to lunch when we first arrived in Argentina. The Torrontes (Crios Torrontes 2009 by Susana Balbo) was the first wine he gave us and I thought “Gosh, if all the wines are going to be like this than this is going to be a very difficult trip.” Luckily some wines stood out over the others.

I tasted a lot of other Torrontes, most were very oily, but this was fresh and would appeal to lots of different people.

Torrontes only grows in one region of Argentina, Salta, in the North. Even wineries that aren’t based in Salta make the wine from fruit grown in that area. Susana Balbo has vineyards in Salta, but makes the Torrontes at her base.

This Torrontes is fresh and zesty and will appeal to Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio drinkers.

Sauvignon Blanc can be a one note, monosyllabic wine. This wine has real body, freshness, light floral notes not heavily acidic.

Normally I choose wines not available in off license and super markets, but this trip I have chosen two.

The Torrontes is available at Majestic and the Passo Doble is available at Oddbins. Both for around £8. Since these are just seasonal wines on the menu and we are going to be showing them for a limited time, I thought it would be nice to offer some that people could find locally.

If we did aour job right and introduced these Argentinean wines to people of Oxford then they can find and continue drinking them after we have stopped serving them.

There was a deliberate policy of this trip. Every one thinks of Malbec when they think of Argentina, I wanted to show that they (wine makers in Argentina) can do more.

I only chose one pure Malbec (Felino Malbec 2008 by Vina Cobos) The other two are a Passo Doble, an Italian style wine blending Malbec with Corvina grape. It’s a softer style of wine, you can drink it on its own standing at a bar. It doesn’t need a big steak to go with it.

In Italy it takes 40-50 days to dry out their grapes to make a style wine like the great Amarones. In Argentina they dry the Malbec grapes in 20% of the time because of the dry warmth, and constant sunshine in that area. They only get an inch of rainfall, but hydration comes from the melting snow in the Andes.

Amauta is drinking really well with steak. It’s a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

Going out on that trip was educational for the winemakers as well. They got to learn what the world market is drinking from us. The currency is weak and most can’t afford to buy wines in- the Torrontes will appeal to a wide range of people.

I wanted one classic Malbec. I chose the Felino because it’s not so heavy with fruit that you would expect from a typical Malbec.

Even people who would have tried the Argentina Malbec wouldn’t have tried these takes on this style. It’s a result of modern intelligent wine making. They are things that should appeal to a broader cross section.

You could put the Amauta and/or the Felino up against some pretty smart European wines and these would stand up next to them. It shows that Malbec isn’t all rustic. That it can stand up to the elegance of the Europeans.

The Felino is an unblended classic. I wanted to choose one that wasn’t very heavy or too strong.

I was the only girl on this trip with four guys. Things that they said were easy drinking I thought they were absolutely mad. One wine in particular they said was easy drinking I said, “Are you mad? I think this just drilled down through one of my fillings.”

We were tasting wines that were listed on the bottle as being 15% alcohol, now that could go over by 1% – 1 ½ % which means that some of these wines could be up to 16 1/2 %. That’s as strong as sherry!

I was looking for something that wouldn’t blow your head away and trample over all the food.

To say that it’s(Felino Malbec 2008 by Vina cobos) made by a Californian- they understand the pairings well. It is a civilized wine and goes really well with the food. Not an egotistical wine.

Two words to describe the Malbec Felino, elegant and refined (subtle) it’s smooth with a long finish, chocolate, a really smooth ride.

Passo Doble almost has the taste of Rioja or nice Merlot. Red fruit characteristics instead of plumy. It does have the raisin dried fruit flavour as well.

Amauta comes from remote region of Salta. It’s a family winery . . . another blend rather than a straight Malbec. Probably the sort of blend you would find in the South of France, Languedoc. The syrah gives it extra spiciness. The Cabernet Sauvignon gives structure and backbone, and tannins when blended together they give you a nice savoury wine that goes with char grilled steak.

Pairing – I would probably put the Amauta with the Scottish cuts. They were dry aged and had more intense flavour than the Argentinean beef. The Felino would go with the Argentinean sirloin or fillet; it’s more delicate and matches well with the delicate beef.

Passo Doble would go with pigeon, duck or lamb. It’s a lighter wine and pairs better with the delicate meats.

Of course the Torrontes goes lusciously with the soft-shelled crab salad. Both Torrontes and Passo Doble can be drunk on their own if you don’t want to eat.

_____ The interview took place Sunday 14 March 2010.

Other Peach Pubs in Oxfordshire include- The Fleece at Witney, and The Thatch and The James Figg, both in Thame.