Eduardo Jordán is the Chief Winemaker for Miguel Torres Chile, the South American holdings of the Spanish wine making concern, established by Miguel Torres himself in the late 1970s. Jordán has been with Torres Chile for over two decades, and oversees production at its numerous sites across the country. For all of that, Jordán made his first visit to Toronto this week, and I had lunch with him and a handful of wine professionals at one of the city’s private wine clubs.
The purpose of the lunch was to taste through four wines in or headed to the LCBO, as well as a pair of limited quantity special project wines of Jordán’s that can only be procured through Torres’ Canadian importing agent, Dandurand. The first two wines are a new entry level brand Torres has recently launched. Loco di Piedra might be loosely translated as crazy from the rocks; there is a back story to the brand about a winemaker gone ferally mad over tending his vines, which the urbane Jordán assured us was not a personal description.
The 2024 Loco di Piedra Sauvignon Blanc ($12.95) is a straight forward, lime and passion fruit, varietally faithful expression of the grape, which is widely planted in Chile. The quality to price ratio is exceptional, and I would recommend it to friends and family that regularly buy big brand New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, like Kim Crawford, which sells for over 50% more.
The 2022 Loco di Piedra Cabernet Sauvignon ($12.95) is also a varietally faithful expression of its grape, with black fruit and chocolate notes. There is a light touch of pyrazine bell pepper in it, which I think appeals to many Cabernet drinkers. What struck me was that, for a wine at this price point, it is remarkably in balance with good food friednly acidity and dry with only four grams of residual sugar. I would recommend this wine to regular drinkers of $20 California Cabernets, and hope they’d come over to this fresher fruit version of their favourite grape.
After the Loco wine the Cabernet Sauvignon got serious. The 2023 Cordillera de los Andes from the Maipo Valley showed a strong line of cassis fruit, with a smoky-leathery finish. The 2020 Manso de Velasco from the Curicó Valley added violets to the black current with a bit of minty herbal notes and a touch of oak seasoning. Both wines declared their allegiance to red meat and would elevate a steak dinner.
The 2022 Los Inquietos ‘02’ is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine from a single small holding in the Maule Valley planted in 1905. The Los Inquietos label is Eduardo Jordán project and features small produtions (1,100 bottles) of wines made from isolated vineyards of old vines. More black current and mint herb come forward on a wave of absolutely silky tannins. A gorgeous wine in its youth, holding much promise in the coming years.
The other red wine we tasted was the 2021 Los Inquietos ‘01’, also from the Maule Valley, about 250 kms south of Santiago. The 01 vineyard was planted in 1945 and the wine is made from its field blend. It’s mostly Malbec (Jordán uses the old name of the grape from Cahors, Côt), but also includes some Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère and the nearly extinct old Burgundian grape Romano or César.
The Los Inquietos ‘01’ is a stunning wine. Inquietos translates as “restless”, and the 01 has energy and purple fruit vibrancy. It’s an expression of South American Malbec that we don’t see enough of in Canada; quite light on its feet with juicy food friendly acdity under complex, though clear, blackberry fruit and some Andean herb scrub with a persistent finish.
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My last column at The Hub looks at the wines of the Southern Rhône Valley and my recent attendance at big tastings there in Avignon. Read it here.
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WINE RECOMMENDATIONS
Argiolas Perdera Monica di Sardegna 2022
Price: $21.95
Channel: LCBO Vintages
Producer: Argiolas
Country: Italy
Region: Sardinia
Appellation: Monica di Sardegna DOC
Grapes: Monica
Alcohol by Volume: 13.5%
Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre
The wine media has not been uniformly kind to Sardinia’s second red grape. The entry for Monica Nera in Robinson, Harding and Vouillamoz’s encyclopedic Wine Grapes (2012) is headlined “Generally undistinguished dark-skinned variety…”. To be fair, it goes onto suggest that the biggest trouble with Monica might be the tenedecy to grow it for high yields, and names Argiolas, which makes the 2022 Perdera that’s in the LCBO now, as a recommended producer.
In any event, the Perdera Monica is lovely, easy to drink Mediterranean wine. Bolstered by a bit of Carignan and Graciano, look for big dark cherry and black currant fruit with a bit of a volatile acidity acetone lift and white pepper lift on the finish. Soft fruit tannins make this red easy to pair with just about anything that comes of a mixed grill; perfect for an impromtu dinner with the neighbours in the backyard.
https://www.lcbo.com/en/argiolas-perdera-monica-di-sardegna-39154
Kelerei Bozen Pinot Grigio 2023
Price: $21.95
Channel: LCBO Vintages
Producer: Kellerei Bozen (Cantina Produttori Bolzano)
Country: Italy
Region: Alto Adige (Südtirol)
Appellation: Alto Adige DOC
Grapes: Pinot Grigio
Alcohol by Volume: 13.5%
Sugar Content: 4 grams per litre
The Kellerei Bozen is among the vanguard of Western Europe’s new wave of serious co-operative wineries. It’s members literally grow their grapes on the slopes that form the valleys surrounding Bolzano and they intend to compete with the fine producers that have made the Alto-Adige one of Italy’s wine making centres of excellence, but at much more approachable prices.
The tasting notes on the tech sheet for the Bozen Pinot Grigio reads, “full-flavored, mellow and rich in extracts.” Indeed. I’ll add I found tangerine and lime citrus, tart McIntosh apple and a finish that dissolves into honeysuckle. There’s a lot going on in this $22 white wine, and it’s the perfect conversion tool for those who don’t think they like Pinot Grigio. They just need to taste a good one.
This Pinot Grigio wants a charcuterie plate and a small bowl of potato chips.
