Greetings and salutations one and all.
Simon’s Wine of the Week is Mesa Trinas Torrontes
If you’ve paid any attention to the wine world at all in the last 20 years you’ll know that Argentina and Malbec are pretty much synonymous. Go into any restaurant or pub up and down the country and there’ll be a Malbec somewhere on the list and chances are it’s probably their best-selling red. We love a bit of that big, bold, puncjy red! But if you look behind the Malbec curtain you’ll find there’s all sorts of interesting and exciting things going on in Argentina. They make some fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay which are definitely worth checking out, but they also have their own speciality white; Torrontes.
The grape Torrontes is nearly all grown in Argentina, with only a few, small, isolated plantings in Chile, Peru and Bolivia. It was thought for a long time that it was the same grape as another variety called Torrontes grown in Galicia in Spain, but recent DNA profiling has confirmed the Argentinian version isn’t related to it at all. Without getting too technical it is more than likely a cross between the grapes Mission and Muscat of Alexandria.
Well, that’s enough of the science stuff! The one big thing you need to know about Torrontes is that it is awesome with Asian and Indian cuisine. It’s so aromatic, zesty, and floral it just screams out for a bit of spice. Pair this with a coconut curry or chicken satay and you can’t go wrong.
The Mesa Trinas Torrontes comes from Mendoza and for me is an absolute steal. There aren’t many wines that pack this sort of punch for this sort of price. On the nose it is super floral with lots of orange and mandarin over the top of rose petals. It smells almost sweet, but don’t be put off, it definitely is dry (as an aside it is very, very difficult to smell if anything is sweet as sugar is not volatile – more science!). The palate is medium-bodied, dry and super zesty, with more floral notes, plus super-fruity peach, apricot, and mandarin notes.
As I said earlier this is perfect for any spicy food and should be a must on decent restaurants and pubs with Asian and Indian food.
Have a great week,
Simon
