Wine of the Month
GRAN LURTON Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec 2013 Argentina
With this inaugural “Wine of the Week” column for the Sydney Times we want to start a new tradition of sharing and recommending really“top value wines that outperform their price category” or “punch above their weight” to use the oft quoted “Aussie vernacular”. I have previously promoted some of the Top Value wines in the ALDI range before, including the MONSIGNY Premier Crus Champagne last New Years eve but I have mixed emotions about the success of our Tip off,..because this “cracker of a Champagne”,.. worth twice its price by my reckoning,..(RRP price was a ridiculous $25.00!),..was sold out within days!
I suspect members of the Sydney hospitality trade connected to me or the @sydneytimeswineclub on FB or Linkedin, looking for Top Value,..did a lightning swoop on all Metropolitan ALDI stores!
I hope this wine GRAN LURTON Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec 2013 Argentina,…doesn’t suffer the same fate!
*Tasting of the GRAN LURTON Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec 2013 Argentina.
Now the first thing that struck me about this wine was the unmistakeable Classic Bordeaux like structure,..In appearance the wine has a dense Dark colour, and the bouquet is redolent of dark berries, tobacco and black fruits with integrated vanillan oak.It offers up a complex nose which straight away hints at the Fine Wine category,..This is not a simple commercial wine,..that was clear at the outset.The Bordeaux structure on the nose becomes even more apparent on the palate,…..the Top Quality Argentine Mendoza fruit nicely framed by a Bordeaux structure ,…. giving complexity and an elegant and refined structure,… that one generally only encounters with Top class Cru Bourgeois or even Classified Growth Bordeaux wines.
Hardly surprising then, that this wine is made by the Bordeaux based family Francois LURTON in Mendoza,Argentina.The official production unit is Bodega Piedra Negra (François Lurton) and it has quite a lot of bottle age being a 2013 ,..not bad for this price point!
Tasting Notes:
“It is deep Ruby red in colour with a bouquet showing black fruit and hints of cassis with maybe some savoury hints of coffee,spice, and a bit smokey with some minerality.It has smooth tannins and a vanillan oak influence ,..It is A full bodied Cabernet (with hints of Malbec) and the wine has smooth tannins as a result of the deft use of oak. As I mentioned earlier,..the elegant structure and complexity are not generally found with a wine in this price category.i.e. sub AUS $50.00
I enjoyed this wine with a “Porterhouse steak with a Baked potatoe and heavily garlicked salad,..also purchased from ALDI and I felt very lucky indeed,…as though I was getting the best of both worlds ,..the Structure of Bordeaux and the Rich opulent fruit from Argentina ,..what a combination,…what a synergy,…Ripper!
In order to check this wines pedigree,..I took the trouble to check the Argentinian based website of Lurton and found this information which I translated and reproduce from the Spanish!
“Cabernet Sauvignon was the first great wine launched by François Lurton, proof of the excellent quality of our homeland.(Bordeaux that is!) It is the oldest imprint of the winery in the Uco Valley and Lurton can organize vertical tastings with about 20 vintages of this assemblage.
The Argentine cabernet sauvignon is complex, structured and unique. This is one of the most awarded Cabernet Sauvignon wines (the first to receive a gold medal in the Wine Challenge International Awards in 1996) and, for sure, the one that best represents the know-how of François Lurton.
James Suckling has awarded him 95 points recently.”Since 1980, the Lurton brothers have operated a classy winery in Mendoza with around 140 hectares under vine. The varietal range offers great value and the top wines, particularly the Gran Lurton Cabernet and the Piedra Negra and Chacayes Malbec bottlings, showing superb polish and sophistication.
Incidentally this wine is served in some Top London restaurants like my favourite Argentinal restaurant Gaucho.,…an sold in some top London wine stores (like Roberson in South Kensington,)..so I reckon this is a great deal for us Aussies,…many of whom have already had a mild flirtation with Argentinian Malbec!
