A Fine Argentinean Wine

The 2001 Caro—half cab and half malbec—is a real delight, and further proof of how Argentina's wines continue to develop and improve

By Nick Passmore

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Argentina might be the world's fifth largest wine producer—yes, it surprised me, too—but many of the radical changes in winemaking techniques, and the corresponding improvement in quality that have swept through France, Italy, Spain, and the U.S. in the past few decades have largely passed Argentina by.

Until recently, that is. Throughout the 20th century, Argentinean winemaking functioned in viniferous isolation, producing vast quantities of inexpensive plonk for local consumption, wine that wouldn't stand a chance in the competitive export market, if it even bothered to try.

Recently, however, political and economic stability, and the prospect of cheap land has attracted a slew of foreign investors and their accompanying band of traveling international oenologists and viticulturists who often work two harvests a year, one in each hemisphere.

What a Delight

One of these investors is Domaines Barons de Rothschild of Château Lafite, which has formed Caro, a joint venture with local producer Nicolas Catena in Mendoza, the country's wine capital at the foot of the Andes.

The other evening I drank a bottle of Caro's 2001 vintage, and what a delight it turned out to be. Soft and accessible, it showed lovely dark berry flavors—think blackberry and cherry—accentuated by touches of punchy spice, I assume from the malbec in the blend. Still fresh, with fine balancing acidity and well integrated tannins for a solid structure, it is a gem of bright fruit and flinty minerality. In a blind tasting I would peg it as a very good bordeaux.

It retailed for $40 on release, but this vintage is now listed by Wine-Searcher.com with an average price of $85. The current release, the 2005 is young and fresh and fruity but with none of the polished sophistication of its elder relative—an exuberant adolescent next to the urbane uncle. But give it time, give it time….

WOW Rating:

When to Drink: It will reward you for a few years patience.

Breathing/Decanting: Necessary.

Food Pairing: For the 2005, pasta with meat or red sauces,

Grapes: 50% cabernet sauvignon, 50% malbec.

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Price: $48

Availability: Limited

See more wines at www.nickonwine.com.

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Nick Passmore is an independent wine writer and consultant based in New York. For five years he contributed a widely read monthly wine column to Forbes.com, in addition to which his work has appeared in such publications as Forbes, Discover, Town & Country, the Robb Report, the Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, Sky, and Golf Connoisseur. He is currently Artisanal Editor for Four Seasons magazine and contributes the Nick Passmore: Wine of the Week column to BusinessWeek.com. He is also a judge at the widely respected annual Critics' Challenge wine competition.

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