Mendoza Day Two

We're now in the Valle de Uco, that fertile plain just east of the Andes. And what's better than having lunch in a great little roadside restaurant where you can order the wine from a bodega that you just passed down the street? The Finca La Luz, Callejon del Crimen, Merlot 2005 turned out to be a pretty good lunch wine. Medium bodied, light oak, attractive nose, fruity...a solid "good" wine. The sun was shining, the food was good - so, just had to have another local bottle. Time for the highly regarded O. Fournier bodega to step up to the plate with their Beta Crux, 2003, a blend of tempranillo (not widely grown in Mendoza) and malbec. An interesting wine - complex and full bodied. "Good".
Check out the view from these vineyards that creep up to 5000 feet on the side of the Andes...beats the snot out of the scenery in Bordeaux or the NAPA valley. PS - everything is brown not green coz we're in the southern hemisphere and it's winter!!
So, of for dinner we went. Interestingly, many of the restaurants in Mendoza have a wine cellar instead of a wine linst - you go into their cellar and choose a bottle; in this particular restaurant ("Azafran"), the sommelier is on hand to help you with your selection. He steered us towards the Nieto Senentiner, Bonarda, Partida Limitada, 2002, one of the most expensive wines in their cellar (and it was still a quite affordable $60). We don't get a lot of Bonarda up here in Canada, so it was interesting to try. This was a medium-full bodied effort with tangy blackcurrants and silky moderate tannins. Definitely worth investigating this grape. A "Good" wine, just not quite my style.
Cheers!!