This wine was courtesy of my brother, who spent some time in Argentina a few years back. This wine has been in the cellar since he brought it back with him.
I’d never had a Bonarda, and despite it being quite widely planted in Argentina, it’s a difficult variety to find out a lot about. Apparently the variety is originally from Piedmont in Italy, but then there’s even confusion about that! Whatever the case, having tasted this wine I would suggest we might be hearing a lot more about Bonarda coming out of Argentina . . .
The wine was a dark, deep red colour with some hints of brick that underscore its 8 years of age. It had a nice nose of dark fruits, well integrated oak, sawdust, and some appealing smoky, tobacco aromas. On the palate it was medium to full bodied, with ripe dark fruit flavours. It was however, in no way overblown and had a nice level of complexity. It had a savoury finish with some chewy tannins and a hint of those smoky/tobacco flavours which I really liked. It's drinking very well now though pretty sure it has at least another 5 years in it.
If I’d drunk Bonarda regularly I reckon I would have really enjoyed this wine. The fact it was something completely new and tasted distinctly different from what I normally drink, meant I enjoyed it all the more! Lovely drop.
Red
4 comments:
Good for you for giving Bonarda a try! A rather obscure grape in France, it escaped to Argentina, where it became the most widely planted grape variety in the country (surpassed recently by Malbec). When vinted, it produces a wine in which Malbec tones are married with the fatness of a Merlot and the gaminess of a Syrah.
We are currently featuring the 2008 Monte Lindo in our April Classic Series. I'm looking forward to the response from our members.
Paul Kalemkiarian
President, Wine of the Month Club
http://www.wineofthemonthclub.com
Thanks Paul. So the grape is from France! I'd read that, but that majority of views written on Bonarda seemed to suggest that it was from Piedmont.
Hi Red,
Sorry for the confusion. The consensus seems to be that the grape indeed has its origins in Piedmont, but some have speculated that its actual roots stem from Savoie, France, and that it was then transported to Piedmont, where it began to gain its prestige.
Regardless of whether this theory has any credibility, to say it is from Piedmont is still the safest bet.
Salud!
Paul Kalemkiarian
President, Wine of the Month Club
http://www.wineofthemonthclub.com
We are drinking a bottle of the 2002 Nieto Senetiner Bonarda right now and it is absolutely superb.
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