April 2008

Argentina

Argentina is on a roll. Few wine regions can match the high quality and reasonable prices of the wines being produced in Argentina today.  In our December 2006 report entitled Argentina’s Magnificent Malbec the International Wine Review provided subscribers an in-depth look at Malbec, Argentina’s principal grape. Here we review the new vintages and releases of not only Malbec, but other varieties. We also include several new producers whose wines we tasted for the first time. continue (subscribers only) >>

Argentine Wines Reviewed

Antis	Catena Alta Dolium	Luca	Tikal
Bodega A	Dominio del Plata	Luigi Bosca	Tilia
Bressia	Ben Marco	Maipe	Tiza
Bodega Catena Zapata	Crios	Mapema	Viña las Perdices
Alamos	Susana Balbo Familia Mayol	Mendel
Catena	La Posta del Viñatero	Paso de Piedra Reserva

Chile ···································································

For more than two decades, Chile’s wine export strategy has been to build a reputation for inexpensive but good value wines.  Continued growth in wine production and the declining value of the dollar relative to the Chilean peso pose a double whammy to this strategy, with observers of the Chile wine scene recommending a new strategy of reduced yields, higher quality, and higher prices.  While the International Wine Review has yet to do an exhaustive evaluation of Chilean wine, this month’s tasting gave us the opportunity to try the wines of several of the country’s more prominent producers.  We find Chile is still producing wines of very good value as well as some wines of exceptional quality which would face no difficulty in the market even at higher prices. continue (subscribers only) >>

Chilean Wines Reviewed

Aresti	Erasmo
Big Tatoo Wines	Los Vascos
Cousiño-Macul	MontGras

France ································································

France, of course, is one of the most fabled countries in the world when it comes to wine with numerous regions, varietals, and types of wine being produced. This month we taste new releases from three regions – Alsace, Bordeaux, and the Rhone. We were most impressed with the Rhone wines of Pierre Gaillard, who is producing wines of unique character and excellent value. continue (subscribers only) >>

French Wines Reviewed

Lucien Albrect
Les Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)
Pierre Guillard

Portugal ·······························································

In January 2006 the International Wine Review issued a major report on the Red Table Wines of Portugal. At the time we stated, “Portugal is producing some of the most exciting and improved red wines in Europe today.” This month we taste a few Portuguese wines from the recent vintage, and our evaluation remains the same as before. continue (subscribers only) >>

Spain ·································································

Last month the International Wine Review evaluated a large number of Spanish wines, including many from regions of the country not previously well-known for wine in the U.S. and other major export markets. We found numerous wines of incredible value. This month we tasted a few more wines from non-traditional regions, with similar results. continue (subscribers only) >>

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To submit wines for review, contact the publishers at info@i-winereview.com or call 703-448-5566