3D hits

It’s been a great week for Alejandro ‘El Colo’ Sejanovich and Jeff Mausbach – the brains and winemaking brawn behind Manos Negras, Teho and Tinto Negro just took top spot in Tim Atkin’s Argentina 2017 report. 

Their Teho Malbec Tomal Vineyard 2014, La Consulta, racked up a whopping 98 points in the wine critic’s annual guide, ranking equal first alongside Zuccardi Finca Piedra Infinita Malbec 2014.

At day one of the 3D wine fair in Monserrat, El Colo had some new – white – tricks up his sleeve.  Bringing together Argentine wine distributors El Garage de Aldo, SOMA, Montana and Aurea, one treat was Zaha Marsanne 2016 sourced from Tunuyán in Uco Valley. Lots of stone fruit, oily texture and yet heaps of acidity, it’s the first of this Northern Rhône variety – often blended with Roussanne – I’ve tasted from Argentina. And it’s a smasher. Can it be spring 2017/18 already now? 305 pesos.

The dynamic duo’s other  foray into whites is Manos Negras Blend de Blancos Stone Soil 2016 – starring Sémillon, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer – more complex and rounded with a hint of Gewü aromatics rummaging around. (I’ve forgotten the price.)

Other sip tips – and I was all about the white on the night – include Fuego Blanco’s Gewü from Pedernal in San Juan, Finca Suárez’s trad method sparkler, Perro Callejero’s Pinot Gris 2016 and a rich and exciting Blanco Solera 2010 by Familia Durigutti made from Sémillon, Chardo and Gewü that should get PerSe Volare de Flor Chardonnay fans hot and bothered.