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Celebrating
their 10th Anniversary
Lurton's Winery in Argentina's Sky
©
Michael Vaughan 2006
National Post
Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
Saturday,
July 29, 2006
LIVE
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Today,
I cast the spotlight on the unheralded appearance of some super buys from
Argentina that were released in Vintages last Saturday. From brothers
Jacques & Francois Lurton, we have two very fine wines that deserve
close attention. First, there is Bodega
Lurton 2005 Chardonnay Reserva (591743) at
$12.95. Located in the Mendoza region on the eastern side of the Andes,
this harmonious, well structured, rather mouthfilling Chard delivers lots
of ripe lemon-melon-pear flavours followed up by a lingering, brioche
finish.
The wine's richness is attributable to Spring hailstorms, a common problem affecting certain Mendoza regions, which in 2005 dramatically reduced yields. As a result of reduced crop loads, the remaining grapes had more highly concentrated flavours and perfectly ripe chemical compounds (called phenolics). The result: a great wine.
You often hear technical figures being tossed around, which can seem meaningless. In this instance, yields were reduced to only 40 hl (or 5,333 bottles of 750 ml) per hectare of vineyard. By classic European standards that is very respectable, but you also have to know how many vines there are in each hectare (known as planting density). In Lurton's case, it is 4,500 vines per hectare. This means that each 10-year-old vine produced a lowly 1.18 bottles of wine. As it takes approximately one kilo of grapes to make a bottle, the crop load was a mere1.4 kilo per vine, which is a fraction of what is usually grown.
Great grapes, however, are only part of the equation. In order to get the flavours right, Lurton sourced their grapes from two regions. From their warmer Barrancas vineyard just east of Mendoza (altitude about 600 m), the grapes were very ripe with 14% alcohol. This resulted in ripe, rich flavours.
Balancing this were the grapes from their much higher (1,100 m) Chacayes estate vineyards on the eastern slope of the Andes southeast of Mendoza. The climate in the upper reaches of the Valle de Uco is tempered by very cool nights (with daily variations up to 15°C) and a shorter growing season. As a result, the grapes are harvested with lower alcohol (about 12.5%) meaning higher acidity and fresh fruit flavours.
Having selected the grapes, the winemaker starts working on the flavours. In this case, some of the juice from the different vineyards (harvested at separate times) is fermented in oak barriques and aged on their lees (natural sediment of yeast cells, etc) for six months. This lees aging, combined with stirring, adds complexity and mouthfeel to the wine. Only half of the wine goes to barriques, the balance into vats where the integrity of fruit remains intact.
A
highlight of the July 22nd Vintages release is the juicy, harmonious Bodega
Lurton 2004 Malbec Reserva (903153) at an
incredibly low $13.95. All the grapes were sourced from Lurton's Valle de
Uco vineyard. Deep intense purple in colour, the nose is spicy, complex
and very slightly smoky with black cherry notes. Ripe and beautifully
proportioned, the warm, plummy, violet-chocolate-cherry flavours go on and
on. Aged for 9 months in barrels (1/3 new), it is perfect for drinking
today and will evolve over the next 18 months.
For
many wine lovers, Malbec is a bit of a mystery. Last February I visited
Argentina trying to get a handle on its evolution. My first session was a
comparative Malbec tasting with renowned Argentine enologist Raúl de la
Mota. Of the six tasted blind with him, it was love at first sip with
Bodega Lurton 2004 Malbec Reserva.
He explained that DNA analysis proves that Malbec is an ancient wild vine from southwestern France and was originally known as Côt or Auxerrois in Cahors. This thick skin, deeply coloured variety was eventually introduced to Bordeaux, where at one time was it was widely grown. It is there where it acquired its name after its pioneering property owner - Malbeck. It is hard to believe that at one time, Chateau Lafite was mostly planted with Malbec (aka Noir de Pressac).
Malbec was the first French vine imported into Argentina in the 1850's and by 1944 there were an astonishing 49,248 hc. Under cultivation. Because it was not a prolific yielding vine, by 1991 plantings had plummeted to only 9,000 hc. As Argentine producers have rediscovered the virtues of lower yielding Malbec, Mendoza's plantings have exploded by fourfold. It is now Argentina's signature grape!
Having explored Argentina's dynamic new vineyards, I was especially impressed with the modern, albeit isolated, winery built by the boys from Bordeaux - Jacques and Francois Lurton. It was in 1996 when they decided to acquire vineyards in Argentina and settled on the Uco Valley, a dessert region, where no winery and/or vineyards had gone before. The following year they initiated the planting of Malbec grapes and started to build their Tunuyan winery in the sky at an altitude of 1,100 m in Vista Flores.
At their recent 10th anniversary celebration, I was able to see the tremendous advances made. Accompanied by their father Andre Lurton, it would have been too easy for the boys from Bordeaux to stay home. They have succeeded in making great New World wines from Old World grapes - true pioneers. Today, their vineyards stretch from France and Spain to Chile, Uruguay and even Australia. A testimonial to what can be done by hard work, dedication, know-how and daring.
Pick of the Week
Proving
that a good wine doesn't have to cost a heck of a lot, today's
recommendation hails from the LCBO General List. The nose is quite floral
with subtle hints of ripe lemon and honey. Dry, smooth and yet crisp, the
slightly spicy, unoaked, melon-citrus flavours would complement everything
from fresh trout to delicate stir-fried seasonal vegetables. Better yet, Bodega
Lurton 2005 Pinot Gris (556746) at $10.90 comes
with a taint-free, screwcap closure.
2001-2002-2003-2004-2005-2006
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