Gaucho and Mr Argentina

Most main stream restaurants in Hong Kong, no matter how specialise they are, often serve wine from more than one countries to ensure they cater for every palate and preference. Therefore it was surprising to find out that Gaucho, an Argentinian restaurant specialising in steak, only lists Argentine wine, and over 150 of them, save a few champagne.

Gaucho is an international restuarant chain that opened its first Asian restaurant in Hong Kong in 2014. The all Argentine wine list was the brainchild of the group’s Director of Wine, Phil Crozier, back in 1999 for the outlet in London. It was a radical decision that proved to be a great success.

Englishman Phil was nicknamed Mr Argentina because of his relentless effort in promoting Argentine wine. His wine list has grown from 25 wines in 1999 to over 400 wines from 13 wineries at present. His second radical idea came was to create Gaucho’s own in-house label wine. In 2007 the group purchased a 6.5 ha vineyard, Finca La Franca, in Luján de Cujo in Argentina. The wine, Viña Patricia, is only available exclusively at Gaucho restaurants.


Most wine lovers know that Malbec is the flagship wine of Argentina. Gaucho has an impressive list of some 50 Malbecs including the Super Malbecs. In addition, Phil, together with Hong Kong head sommelier Andrés Torres, also champion other Argentine wines, in particular Torrontés and Bornada. Torrontés, with its floral, apricot and faint lychee aromas, are reminiscent of Gewurztraminer but with higher acidity, goes extremely well with ceviche (raw seafood marinated in lime juice).  Bornada is the second most planted red variety after Malbec in Argentina, offers bright red fruit characters with supporting acidity. It is versatile with food and matches with both seafood in heavy sauce and steak.

Apart from the wine, the food at Gaucho is equally impressive. The Trio of Medallions (three cuts of fillet, rib-eye and sirloin) was heavenly that was the best I have tasted outside Argentina. It was perfect with the accompanying Bonarda, Cabernet Franc and Malbec that Andrés has carefully selected.

I totally agree that promoting a country’s wine through its food is the best way to engage consumers. Every country should have a Phil with his dedicated passion to the country so we consumers can explore and appreciate what wine producing countries can offer.

To sample fine Argentine food and wine, including Gaucho own label Viña Patricia, visit Gaucho in LHT Tower in Central.

Continental Wines portfolio tasting

Portfolio tastings are always worthwhile to attend if you have time because you may be familiar with only a handful of brands that importers are carrying and the tastings are a chance for you to discover something new.

I particularly enjoyed the recent Continental Wines portfolio tasting in May. Not only were there a lot of wines to try—over 200 wines from 45 wineries in 10 countries were presented—it was also a great opportunity to catch up with friends both from the trade in Hong Kong and from the wineries. After all, more than half of the brands had representatives present.

The first person to greet me was Huibre Hoff from Morgenster Estate in South Africa, whom I met last year when she conducted a Mongenster vertical tasting here. We discussed the ‘Discover South African Wine Festival’ that just ended in April and the upcoming Cape Wine event in September while tasting her wines. The Lothian Vineyards Pinot Noir 2012 from Elgin was very pleasant and the Bordeaux blend Morgenster 2009 was just superb. 

My next stop was Claudio Quarta, a biologist turned winemaker in the south of Italy. Claudio has two brands. One is Cantina San Paolo in Campania whose Greco di Tufo DOCG was outstanding. But what caught my eye was the QU.ALE Rosso Salento from his other vineyard, Tenute Eméra in Puglia. This wine is the project of his daughter, Alessandra Quarta. The name was cleverly derived from her own and means ‘What’ in Italian. Alessandra’s question is, "What responsibilities do we have if we want to work with respect for nature and mankind?" The wine, with ‘The Wine Democracy’ on the label and a very reasonable price of HK$113/bottle, clearly targets the younger audience with a conscience. However, it is not pure gimmick. You may not agree with her marketing ideas or the video but the wine, a blend of Syrah, Touriga Nacional and Tempranillo, is definitely a pleasant, simple, easy-drinking wine that will charm new young wine consumers.

From Italy I went to the Southern hemisphere where I discovered two wines made by my friends who are advocates of terroir. Clos des Fous from Chile is the brainchild of Pedro Parra, a terroir specialist whom I met in Chile back in 2013. The grapes were sourced from the extreme conditions of Chile in the south, high altitude and right next to the Pacific Ocean, outside the comfort zones of traditional Chilean wine regions. Even the entry level Subsollum Pinot Noir and Cauquenina (a blend of Carignan, Malbec, Syrah, Pais) are extremely elegant. I’m glad that Pedro’s wines have made it to Hong Kong.

The other one was Altos Las Hormigas from Alberto Antonini, an Italian winemaker friend whom I just visited in Tuscany last September. The winery only produces 100% Malbec from Uco Valley in Mendoza with minimal intervention. The wines, ranging from entry level to vineyard specific, are perfect examples of how a wine can express terroir. The Terroir Malbec and Reserva Malbec are both excellent buys.

Moving on, I was delighted to discover Losada from Bierzo in northern Spain, made from 100% Mencia, a native variety. Pájaro Rojo is fresh with red fruits and herbal flavours, while the flagship Altos de Losada, made from old vines, has a depth and concentration that outshines a lot of Riojas. 

Finally I stopped by Chapel Down, England’s largest sparkling wine producer from Kent. We had a long chat about the English wine industry and its future while sipping the winery's various sparklers. England has been making good quality sparkling wine from Champagne varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) for more than 10 years but still, a lot of people in the trade, let alone consumers, are not aware of it because of the limited export volumes. Only a few brands are available in Hong Kong but do try them if you come across them. You’ll be surprised.

Time flies and before I knew it, it was the end of the session. Usually we can hang around for a while but this time the venue had another function right after so Victoria, owner of Continental Wines, had to send us away. I realised that I only tasted a quarter of the wine—too many wines, too little time—but nevertheless a great discovery, and I had to buy a case for myself.

Continental Wines runs a separate online retail club, Victoria Wines, for private customers.

The power of label

At the recent Northeast portfolio tasting, I came across Finca Piedras Andinas. It caught my eye not because it was the only Argentinian wine represented but because of its label.

I asked Hernan Castro Matias, the producer's manager based in Hong Kong, if the graphic on the label had any meaning, perhaps associated with the name—Finca Piedras Andinas means house of Andean stones. Hernan said no, it is just a modern simple graphic that people can interpret freely and subjectively. For him, it is the stem of a wine glass. For me, it’s a chair. And someone else saw it as an abstract of a grape.

That is the power of a good label. It stands out from the crowd, gets people talking about it, and very likely gets the bottle picked up and purchased. Some wine professionals dismiss consumers who shop by label, insisting that one should buy wine based on knowledge of the region, grape varieties, styles and producers. But the reality is that there are so many wines in the market and most consumers only have limited wine knowledge. Unless there are salespersons hand-selling the wine, how can the ordinary consumer navigate the kaleidoscopic wine world?

I’m all for choosing by label. At least it encourages consumers to explore wines they haven’t tried rather than just sticking with the same few brands they always buy. I admit that I shop by label without feeling ashamed. I was in Barolo last year and went to a wine shop and picked three cases of Barolo by label alone—labels that I liked the look of but hadn’t seen in Hong Kong. I didn’t know all the producers and I certainly didn’t want to buy anything that was available in Hong Kong.

Of course it is true that the label alone may sell once but it needs quality to ensure repeat purchases. The label can't supersede quality as the most important attribute of a wine purchase but it does help the wine to speak up. What's more, a good label is not just something arbitrary, dreamt up by a designer who doesn’t know the wine. It is the bridge between consumer and wine and it should convey the history, the story and the philosophy of the wine.

So back to Finca Piedras Andinas. Yes, the graphic looks like a chair to me but the whole label is very modern and clean. The stroke is powerful yet elegant. It doesn’t look as though the wine is from a winery with hundreds years of history but rather it is one made by energetic young winemakers with only one mission in mind—to make a good wine.

So, what’s the verdict? Finca Piedras Andinas Malbec 2013 is well balanced, with layers of fruit supported by lively acidity. It is full-bodied yet not heavy. I think the label conveys the story very well. The winery is a family-run business located in the Uco Valley in Mendoza at some 1,000m above sea level. It used to sell grapes to other big name estates and only recently started producing wine under its own label. The wine's quality certainly lives up to the standout label and I’m glad that I spotted it.

So don’t hesitate, shopping for wine by label should not be embarrassing. Loosen up, happy shopping and exploring!

Finca Piedras Andinas is available from Northeast.

Flagship wine: ambassador or juggernaut?

What is the wine or grape that first springs to mind when someone mentions France, Spain, Argentina or New Zealand? Bordeaux, Tempranillo, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc? These are considered the flagship wines of those countries, the ambassadors. But do they really bring value to their motherland's wine industry? Or do they shine so bright that they stultify it?

You can argue it either way.

Start with Italy. It has over 350 indigenous grapes, but the one variety that is its claim to fame is Sangiovese, used in so many great wines from Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino to the Super Tuscans. Sangiovese brought the world’s drinkers to Italy and introduced them to its many siblings—Nebbiolo, Aglianico, Pinot Grigio and more. Today, consumers everywhere appreciate the diversity of Italian wines, but they still pay respect to Sangiovese.

Like Italy, Portugal has over 300 native grapes, but it does not promote any particular variety in the international arena. The fact that one grape often has different names depending on where it is grown (north, centre or south) doesn’t help. As a result, perhaps, Portuguese wine has little recognition outside Portugal even today (except Port and Mateus Rosé). A few years ago, ViniPortugal decided to start marketing Touriga Nacional as the national grape, hoping it would achieve similar status to Sangiovese and bring the world to its many other wines. We are still waiting to see the results.

Most will agree that Tempranillo is Spain’s flagship grape. But what about Grenache (Garnacha)? It is an important variety in Rioja where Tempranillo gained its fame, and produces the expressive and concentrated wines of Priorat and the south. In fact, Grenache has more characters than Tempranillo as a varietal, yet it always seems a few steps behind.

Sauvignon Blanc, specifically from Marlborough, put New Zealand on the world wine map. Now every wine region outside New Zealand wants to produce a similar style of Sauvignon Blanc. However, this flagship grape has been so successful that all other great New Zealand wines are living under its shadow. The average consumer—and I am referring to the average, not those in the wine circle—is not even aware of Otago Pinot Noir, let alone the wines of other regions.

Chile is known for offering the best value in several international grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay. Yet it struggles to establish an identity. Conversely, its neighbour Argentina is, in a sense, better positioned in the world wine market because of its flagship grape, Malbec.

So, is having a flagship wine or varietal a good or a bad thing?

Argentina, a land of passion

Finca Sophenia, set against the mighty Andes in Mendoza, has everything one needs to produce a perfect wine—high altitudes rising to 4,000ft, a cool climate, long sunshine hours, high diurnal temperatures, well-drained soil, water from melted Andes snow for irrigation, a gravity-fed winery, the latest vinification equipment ... but I think the real secret of its success lies with Roberto Luka, the finca's driving force.

Roberto has been in the wine export business for many years and has been president of Wines of Argentina. With insight of the industry, he made sure Finca Sophenia was founded on the best possible site, he focuses on export markets and he engages Michel Rolland as wine consultant to ensure the wine suits international consumer tastes.