JAN 8 – Cavas
Early on the 8th we flew to Mendoza and arrived about mid day.
We arrive to Cavas and it’s really a unique place. It’s hidden out in the vineyard. Our rooms were not ready so we had lunch which was nice… and I liked this wine:
After lunch we got to see our rooms… each suite has its own plunge pool and a nice outdoor shower. The room inside is very natural feeling with the adobe walls and stone bathroom. There is also a staircase to the roof where you can have a small fire and look at the stars.
After walking the grounds and taking a dip in the pool, we had dinner. The first night we had a white and then opened the gratuity wine, which was disappointing.
JAN 9 – Wine tours begin!
First stop was Vina Cobos.
The building is sort of a modern square glass thing. Not very impressive. You come in and immediately are in the tasting area. No tour, just a description of the ownership group and their land parcels then down to business.
The wines were nice, but unspectacular. Comparing taste to price list, I’d pass.
Lunch was at Ruca Mulan. We had a nice quick tour and then enjoyed some really nice food.
Unfortunately they had some problems in the kitchen and we really had to rush things in the end. Their wines were very nice and seem like a nice value.
Our last stop was a super duper small place… Carmello Patti. He is a one man show. He buys grapes and does all the vinification on his own, then hires staff to help bottle and label. We tasted several at his place and they were good.
We bought a bottle and had it was our second with dinner…. FANTASTIC after 3 hours in a decanter. Picture later.
We arrived back, a quick dip in the pool and a shower and we get ready to watch a private tango show just for the Cavas guests. Sadly the live musicians were unable to attend, but there were 2 couples dancing and one brave volunteer from the crowd!
We started with a light red, which was ok… but really paled in comparison to the Carmello.
JAN 10 – Uco Valley.
It’s about an hour from Mendoza even with Carlos’s shortcuts (our driver for both days).
It gets up into the hills more and the Andes really seem to be hanging over us. However, it did not come out well in photos because there was so much dust in the air.
Salentein was our first stop.
A massive building really dug into the ground as the cellar. There is a second massive building as well that serves as an art museum and guest center.
Their production volume is enormous. Something like 16 million liters a year…
I was not overly impressed with any of the wines at the tasting… and whats up with all the Merlot…
To be fair, I’ve had good Salentein wines in the past, just what they served was low level and young.
Next stop was O. Fournier which is a very interesting property. The winery is just plain weird looking.
The cellar is actually underground on the right here.
This was a tasting with lunch. The food was very good. The wines were also quite nice.
Lethy and Mom did the lower tasting, Frank and I the top level.
The blend and the B and A crux were all very nice. And the Chardonnay was very crisp.
Late in our lunch, the owner arrived and we met with him on our way out. They are actually selling shares in the vineyard where you can buy a plot and they’ll grow grapes of your choice and make wine or you can blend for yourself.
An interesting concept, but a pipe dream for sure.
Lastly, we had a dinner out in Mendoza. The food was SUPERB. Nearly at the iLatina level.
With it we had some nice wines, too.
The first 2 were very nice, but the Bressia absolutely stole the show. Very nice.
The next day we’d be up very early to go through the Andes.