Hugo kicked the meeting off with the Finca La Linda Torrontés, which had a floral aroma that made me anticipate a sweet, full-bodied white.  What I got was an ultra clean and bone dry refresher that held the door for the first course of market greens, herbs and truffled new potatoes.  The winery’s value line, Finca la Linda aims for a fruit-forward modern style.  Hugo next poured the unoaked Chardonnay from that line along with a chardonnay from the Riserva line.  Due to partial oak-aging the Riserva offered a sleek backbone and toast, while the La Linda was young and crisp with notes of apple.  Both were delightful pairs to finish our salads and an amuse of tuna tartare.

Next we compared Hugo’s Pinot Noir and  Temperanillo, poured to match a dish of duck confit, hand-rolled cavatappi, maitake mushrooms and beet purée.  The Pinot, which Hugo admitted to be the winery’s on-going experiment, turned out to be my favorite of the day.  Stylistically it reminded me of Monterey County, and its “crazy pluminess” reminded Dick of Russian River.  I thought the wine offered a bright contrast to the mildly gamey duck and the nestled up to the earthiness of the beet purée.  The Tempranillo was 100% pure from one of the older family vineyards.  Distinct old-world style with ripe, ripe tannins.

To meet Mina’s signature butter-poached, wood-fired filet, Hugo poured the two Malbecs from his line.  Both the Riserva and the DOC Malbec were outstanding representatives of Mendoza’s signature varietal, but the aromatics of the DOC made for an extra special experience.  ”To be honest, the winery is producing European style wines.  We are trying to have wine for food, and Europeans have the best wines for food.  Even when we are working with new world grapes, we are trying to make wines that will pair with different types of meats,” said Hugo.  Dick offered that, “Malbec is, or was, the flagship wine of Argentina, but it doesn’t need to be anymore, because Argentina makes many other good wines…Malbec brought Argentina the attention of the world, and now it has many other wines to offer.”

All of the wines we tasted cost between $12-$28 dollars.  They offer tremendous value, but do not taste like value wines.  Were we tasting blind, accompanied by cuisine from a top restaurant, I would have guessed that all 7 wines were ultra-premium samples from everywhere but South America.  The first comment I always hear about Argentinian Malbecs is that they are a great value.  While that is definitely true, I left this table enlightened about a wine region that is making many great wines regardless of the price.