Sip Tip: Rutini Gewürztraminer 2014

Wine Review: Rutini Gewürztraminer 2014, Bodega La Rural, Tupungato, Valle de Uco, Mendoza.

“Oh, don’t get that Gewürztraminer,” said B. “I hate sweet wines.”

What? Stop. Rewind.

In the case of the Rutini Gewürztraminer 2014, it’s a dry white. And it’s a fight I seem to be getting into on a daily basis about what constitutes a sweet wine. Answer, late harvest + more sugar in grapes = sweet wine. That, botrytis or fortification. (That, another day, wine geeks.)

But in fairness, the big G does make an ace late harvest. But this Rutini varietal is dry, for sure.

Very few Argentine wineries – two as far as I can tell – produce this white that is well at home in Alsace, Mosel and Trentino-Alto Adige in north-east Italy. Rutini grows it in similarly cool Tupungato in Uco Valley. But it seems that we’ll be down to just Luigi Bosca, as Rutini’s daddy, Bodega La Rural, is apparently going to stop making it. We were just becoming friends, as well.

Which is why, if you’re after a distinctive Argentine white that isn’t all tropical and citrus (Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc) or a vanilla machine (oaky Chardonnay), go for the G spot, if you can find it in a wine store…

With a dulce de leche and caramel nose thanks to four months in French oak, the fruity mouth is all lychee, peachy, citrus. Unctuous, smooth, low acidity, rounded volume.

Asian cuisine is an ideal match for Gewürztraminer, and sushi or Nikkei dishes such as tiradito de lenguado or Temaki cone rolls stuffed with salmon and wrapped in crunchy nori hit my perfect pairing G spot.

$$$
Bit of a big spender this: 280 pesos (November 2014).

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