Torront?s: the Next Malbec
Since 2004 no other country has seen the meteoric rise in volume, value and market share figures that Argentina has in the import segment of fine wine to the U.S. Over the last two years, while all other segments of imported wine have been down in both value and volume—except for Argentina’s across the Andes rival—Argentina has seen value increase in 2008 by 26.6% (U$ 500m) and volume by 15.6% (18.1m 9L cases), and through 3Q 09 value was up 8.8% and volume 8.9%. (It’s important to note that over 50% of all wine sales in the U.S. are done in 4Q of any year due to the Holidays.)
The majority of the reason for this growth during a recessed world economy is due to the great value that is Malbec. But of recent, Argentina’s ace in the hole has been its little known white wine called Torrontés. Torrontés, a grape variety of Spanish origin, has found a home in the arid high altitudes of Salta, La Rioja and San Juan. The dryness and altitude factors enable Torrontés to achieve its best expression while maintaining its acidity, something that it loses at lower altitudes and with too much rain. When achieving its fullest personality, a Salteño Torrontés—from Salta, widely considered to be the best region—such as one from Carinae Vinos, will have an exuberant nose of honeyed orange blossom, jasmine and citrus while the mouth remains dry and crisp with flavors of pineapple, grapefruit, apricot and tropical fruits. Carinae Vinos was started by Philippe and Brigitte Subra, a French couple who relocated to Mendoza in 1998. They have a passion for astronomy and have named their winery and all their vineyards after constellations, beginning with the southern sky, which was not visible for them before in France. They now make several wines that have received high ratings from both Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate.
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