Monthly Archives: June 2014

Cuveliers Los Andes/ Diam Andes

The story begins in 1804 when Henri Cuvelier set out to share his great passion for fine wine with his friends of the grand bourgeoisie residing in the rich and dynamic towns of the North of France, (Lille, Boulogne Sur Mer, Arras, Valenciennes…) To this aim, he created H. Cuvelier And Fils, a wine Merchant company whose rapid success continued to develop throughout the 19th century.

 

At the beginning of the 20th century, Paul Cuvelier and his young brother Albert, anticipating the inevitable rise in « château-bottled wines » to the detriment of the « tailor-made » blends of the wine merchants, decided to purchase top quality estates in the Bordeaux area. They bought Château Le Crock in 1903, then Château Camensac in 1912 and finally the prestigious Château Léoville Poyferré in 1920. It is interesting to note that, in early 1914, Paul Cuvelier had already come to Argentina, to discover the wines of Mendoza. He found them « pleasant to drink » although not adapted to the French taste at that time. He recommended a watchful eye be kept on their development. In 1946, the family group asked Max Cuvelier to create a second Fine Wine Merchant’s based in Bordeaux. It was, as it transpired, essential to have an address in the Pavé des Chartrons if one wished to be part of the Bordeaux wine world. This company has since flourished both in France and around the world.

 

family_03In 1998 Bertrand Cuvelier made the happy choice of personally accompanying Michel Rolland in his great Argentine project, which was to become the« Clos de Los Siete »group. Three years later, Jean-Guy Cuvelier decided to join his cousin Bertrand in the joint aim of building a Winery and producing fine wines worthy of the family tradition. The agreement between Bertrand and Jean-Guy Cuvelier was symbolically signed in the great office of their common ancestor, Henri Cuvelier, in Lille-Haubourdin, in the north of France. Since then, the Winery has been built and each year the vines of Cuvelier Los Andes have contributed 50% of their production to « Clos de Los Siete », the wine signed by Michel Rolland. The success of this wine is worldwide due to the exceptional value for money it offers.

 

family_02The 2003 yield has also allowed the production of the first edition of «Cuvelier Los Andes-Coleccion». Then the 2004 harvest saw the arrival of our first edition of «Cuvelier Los Andes – Grand Vin ». With the 2005, Cuvelier Los Andes S.A., aside from its significant contribution to «Clos de Los Siete», can now present three wines, produced with the help and advice of Michel Rolland: Coleccion – Grand Vin – Grand Malbec. The quality of these wines, produced from young wines, is well beyond our original hopes. Will the Argentine cousins rival in the future with the fine wines of Bordeaux. It is for the consumers to decide. Time will tell.
A last word: We are proud to announce that the new generation has decided to join the crew, taking on the sales and marketing of the Cuvelier Los Andes S.A.

Cuvelier Los Andes is a great winery in Mendoza Argentina, led by there very talented winemaker Fedemco Bieeotto who was well trained in his craft in California and assisted by the world renown consultant Michel Rolland.

One of the reasons there wines are so fresh and vibrant is the introduction to a new wine making technique called Micro Vinification which means the winemaker put whole berry fruit in steel tank or barrel for fermentation.   This technique reduces the amount of oxygen the grapes are exposed to during fermentation.

This winery make very good white wines, Viognier, and Chardonnay, but make no mistake they are a great red wine making winery.  These wines aren’t your ordinary Argentina wines they are made fresh, lively and in the French style of wine making.

I tasted through several of the Cuvelier wines and the best of the best was the 2008 Cuvelier Los Andes Grand Vin “WOW” what a great wine that was powerful from the first time I smell the wine and when I put it on my palate it was explosive with fruits of blackberry, blueberry, spices, my final description as it coated my palate was “A Mouth Full of Joy”.

Thank you Pablo for a great tasting.  Cheers

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Concha Y Toro

Concha Y Toro Is an amazing winery, they have a wine making team for each brand of wine that they make and each team is personally responsible for the total wine making of that particular brand of wine.

Located in the upper Maipo Valley, at the foot of the Andes, and 650 meters above sea level, the Puente Alto vineyard has ideal climatic and geographical conditions for growing Cabernet Sauvignon.

A true representative of the Puente Alto vineyard is Don Melchor, the first world-class Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. “The terroir of Puente Alto is what gives the characteristic fruit expression, elegance and tannin quality of Don Melchor”, explains Enrique Tirado, enologist of this icon.

– See more at: http://www.conchaytoro.com/web/magazine/harvest-notes-in-puente-alto/#sthash.CbVgIRsO.dpuf

Located in the upper Maipo Valley, at the foot of the Andes, and 650 meters above sea level, the Puente Alto vineyard has ideal climatic and geographical conditions for growing Cabernet Sauvignon.

A true representative of the Puente Alto vineyard is Don Melchor, a world-class Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. “The terroir of Puente Alto is what gives the characteristic fruit expression, elegance and tannin quality of Don Melchor”, explains Enrique Tirado, head of the wine making team for Don Melchor.

During my visit I tasted through the 05, 09, the next release vintage of Melchor 2013, in the blending stage. This is the wine that Concha Y Toro wants to enter into the rare class of Cult status.  The wines that I tasted through are outstanding and if they continue to develop more innovative wine making techniques it’s very possible for their dreams to come through.

Chile’s first ultra-premium wine, is the only one with 23 vintages to its credit, all prize-winning and renowned by world critics. Don Melchor is the maximum exponent of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from Puente Alto, and places Chile as one of the world’s great producers of Cabernet Sauvignon.

They do make white wine at Concha Y Toro and the Amelia Chardonnay is on it’s way to becoming a world class Burgundy type Chardonnay, the best that I tasted in Chile.

Chile’s first ultra-premium wine, is the only one with 23 vintages to its credit, all prize-winning and renowned by world critics. Don Melchor is the maximum exponent of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from Puente Alto, and places Chile as one of the world’s great producers of Cabernet Sauvignon. – See more at: http://www.conchaytoro.com/web/our-wines/don-melchor/#sthash.Nt4cnupv.dpuf
Chile’s first ultra-premium wine, is the only one with 23 vintages to its credit, all prize-winning and renowned by world critics. Don Melchor is the maximum exponent of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from Puente Alto, and places Chile as one of the world’s great producers of Cabernet Sauvignon. – See more at: http://www.conchaytoro.com/web/our-wines/don-melchor/#sthash.Nt4cnupv.dpuf

 

Carmín de Peumo is Chile’s first iconic Carmenere. This is simply the best Carmenere made in the world, when I first smelled and tasted this wine all I could say was WOW this is some amazing juice. If this is what the potential of Carmenere has to offer when grown in the perfect conditions then this grape has unlimited possibilities.

 

Located in the upper Maipo Valley, at the foot of the Andes, and 650 meters above sea level, the Puente Alto vineyard has ideal climatic and geographical conditions for growing Cabernet Sauvignon.

A true representative of the Puente Alto vineyard is Don Melchor, the first world-class Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. “The terroir of Puente Alto is what gives the characteristic fruit expression, elegance and tannin quality of Don Melchor”, explains Enrique Tirado, enologist of this icon.

– See more at: http://www.conchaytoro.com/web/magazine/harvest-notes-in-puente-alto/#sthash.CbVgIRsO.dpuf