So sang 10cc on their blinding track Dreadlock Holiday. Turns out wine had nothing to do with this. Which makes sense, as in 1978 Argentina was nowhere near the global force it is today. Sure, production was high, but barely anything made it to the global markets and around this time Argentine’s had a fierce thirst for wine. In the 1970s Argentines were consuming around 90 litres of the stuff per capita. In the UK we were drinking 3 litres. And we were drinking Liebfraumilch and Blue Nun…Anyway, I digress. My friend Gonzalo (watch an interview with him here) is an Argentine national relocated to the UK and working on building a small import business. He isn’t just focusing on Argentina, but that’s where I’m looking today.
Plaza de Grillos (grillos = crickets…geddit?) can be found in Vistaflores, in the Tunyuan department of the Uco. Here, at 1,150 m.a.s.l. the soil is sandy loam and calcium carbonate, with lots of sunshine and only 280mm rainfall annually. Plaza de Grillos farm 15 hectares, primarily of Malbec. Gonzalo sent me 2 wines free of charge in return for my thoughts on the wine and their potential positioning. These 2 wines are made in what we would know as the ‘traditional’ style of Argentine Malbec. These are BIG. Brooding, intense wines with dialled up fruit, layers of oak, and plenty of spice. There’s freshness and structure here, but these are proper big hitters. (if I knew more about cricket I could probably reference an appropriate player here…but I don’t so…)
As we see Argentina moving towards slightly lighter expressions there remains a place for the bold, rich, and intense wines that have been loved for so long. These 2 sit squarely in that bracket and do so wonderfully. I’d recommend these with big hunks of meat (or something suitably filling and rich from a vegetarian/vegan standpoint), ideally cooked over coals. Below are my usual stream of consciousness tasting notes.
PLAZA DE GRILLOS GRAN RESERVA MALBEC
100% MALBEC – VISTAFLORES
12 MONTHS FRENCH OAK
Warm, rolling, and slowly enveloping the senses in a cosy blanket of red fruit, violet aromatics, and smooth oak notes. There’s a lot here to unpick, the nose is hugely complex. There’s a warm liqueur top note, but it fades to reveal a whole world of fruit. Ripe cherries, both red and black, nestle in a cluster amongst blackberries, currants, ripe plums, and black raspberries. The fruit seems to be constantly evolving and revolving; with every sniff something different pops up, but it all flows naturally from one to the next. I don’t know if crushed velvet has a specific smell, but if it does, it comes to mind here. The red fruit eventually move to something darker and these autumnal fruits lead nicely into creamy vanilla, smoked cinnamon, fresh cedar, and warm toast. The oak here is rich and confident. Not dominant, but omnipresent. Over the top of all of this sit violet, black rose, and jasmine. The aromatic provides the perfect lift against the depth of fruit and richness of oak. There are further notes of truffle, cherry tobacco, and leather. There is a huge amount here and despite listing several aromas, I could easily go on. Heady and intoxicating.
The palate is equally complex. Big, bold, and dominant from the off. Full, richly textured, and packed with flavour and texture. Dark cherry, Kirsch liqueur, bramble, blackberry, blackcurrant, black plum. The core of red fruit is still here, but the darker fruit is much more prominent in surrounding it. A splash of dew soaked red cherry and cranberry keeps things fresh. Oak is again prominent as soon as you’ve adjusted to the fruit. Rich veins of vanilla, smoked cinnamon and nutmeg cream, toasted cedar…the move around the palate, they curve and fill every space. Yet somehow, they aren’t sweet as the descriptions may suggest. The oak stays savoury, perhaps backed by some warm herbs and freshened by a trace of mountain minerality. Those aromatics are also present, but serve as an undernote, adding to the fresh but subtle line of acidity that runs through this. The finish is fresher than you may expect from the intense palate. Notes of pepper spice, star anise, and a hint of clove run around the finish. A very ‘traditional’ style of Malbec that’s confident, bold, and brooding.
THREE WORDER: DENSE – INTENSE – COMPLEX
PLAZA DE GRILLOS ICONO MALBEC 2016
100% MALBEC – VISTAFLORES
18 MONTHS FRENCH OAK
There’s a dark intensity to the nose straight off the bat. But you can stare this down, it’s a front, hiding a complex character of ripe red berry fruit, complex aromatic spices, seductive oak, and notes of tobacco and leather. Red cherries, redcurrants, cranberries, and raspberries form the centre of this wine, from which everything else evolves and develops. That dark intensity is still there, bringing blackberries and bramble fruits, with a layer of black plum for good measure. The fruit is defined but straining at the leash. It’s becoming fuller and more intense with every swirl and more air. It’s leaping from the glass, spilling over the rim. The fruit washes around with heady intent, making sure you take it all in. The layers of oak wash across the nose, with vanilla pod, charred wood, nutmeg, dark chocolate and black roasting coffee. There’s the Vistaflores throughline of violets and jasmine weaving around all of this, managing to remain independent and lifting everything. At risk of becoming too hefty, these aromatics alongside notes of cumin and fresh liquorice keep things on the right side of full. The oak suddenly presents a note of sandalwood and cherry wood, almost slightly saline. There a subtle notes of age, but low in the mix and show this has some way to go still. This will evolve and evoke over the course of the bottle.
From the off in the mouth the red fruit leads the way. Those bright cherries and redcurrants bring freshness and crunch before the brambles and blackcurrants add layers of depth and a dark fruit edge. There’s a linear acid line that runs the length and breadth of this, and it feels fresher despite its 14%. There is weight and power here, but it’s balanced. Tannins melt away in the mouth, coating every inch of the palate with the dark chocolate and aromatic sandalwood character. Again, that subtly saline, fresh wood character. It’s lovely. Those tannins are deceptive, they feel so round and smooth that you don’t realise they’re pretty big; they’re just perfectly formed. Of course, this is all the stage on which the combination of red and black fruit dance and weave around each other while layers of chocolate, coffee, cedar, toast, and smoke roll around beautifully. The spice notes are dialled down, but interact with the violet, jasmine, and mineral note…all the while you return to the developing fruit. This feels remarkably young and fresh for a label stating 2016 and 14%abv. Still in the ’trad’ Malbec style but with real depth and complexity.
THREE WORDER: DEPTH – LAYERED – EVOLVING
You can find the wines here, alongside a selection of the other wines with which Gonzalo is working. Check ‘em out.
Many thanks to Gonzalo for these free samples bottles.
REMEMBER: IT’S JUST GRAPES.
Freestyle Wines 