Friday, June 19, 2009

Argentine wine maker comes to Dallas with malbecs and more

By Teresa Gubbins

Marc Lee

Icono red wine from Bodega Luigi Bosca

DALLAS — The word of the hour was "malbec". The place: Sevy's Grill in Preston Center, where winemaker Alberto Arizu presided over a small gathering at lunch on Thursday, showcasing wines from Bodega Luigi Bosca, the family-run Argentinian winery started by his great grandfather in 1901.

Though grown all over the world, the malbec grape has become the unofficial national grape of Argentina, and like any wine producer in Argentina, it's Luigi Bosca's specialty; of the half dozen wines Arizu featured at the four-course luncheon, three were malbecs.

But malbec isn't the only thing his winery does; he poured everything from a fruity white to a cabernet-bouchet blend.

He started with a Luigi Bosca Reserva sauvignon blanc, a fruity white, to accompany the opening "warm crostini" appetizer course.

Marc Lee

Warm mozzarella crostini

Next, a pair of malbecs for comparing and contrasting: Finca La Linda malbec, an $11 red that he called intense and drinkable, but not necessarily complex; and Luigi Bosca malbec DOC, a more delicate, perfumey red, more complex and more expensive at $25 a bottle. Those went with the second courses of spicy duck flautas and wild game sausages, a trio that included buffalo, rabbit, and venison.

Marc Lee

Spicy duck flautas with mango relish

Third course was slow-roasted Kobe pot roast with garlic mashed potatoes and beef tenderloin with grilled vegetables. Sevy's chef-owner Jim Severson came out and said hello, describing what he does as "simple food, prepared well". He was right.

Marc Lee

Sevy's smoke house beef tenderloin filet: Subtle hickory scented filet with grilled vegetables, crispy buttermilk onions, and red wine sauce

Marc Lee

Slow roasted Kobe pot roast: Kobe beef simmered with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and red wine, over roasted-garlic whipped potatoes

The wines: Gala 1, a $40-per-bottle blend culled from the winery's various vineyards with 85% malbec, 10% petit verdot, and 5% tannat; and Finca Los Nobles Cabernet Bouchet, a blend of cabernet sauvignon and bouchet from 90-year-old vines, sold for $73.

Marc Lee

Luigi Bosca Gala 1 malbec

Marc Lee

Finca Los Nobles Cabernet Bouchet

Fourth course was cheese, selected to spotlight the climactic showpiece wine: Icono (photo at top), a malbec-cabernet sauvignon blend that commands $150 a bottle and has such a limited production -- 4,700 bottles -- that it's sold almost entirely to collectors. The key to this wine, Arizu said, is that it represents the terroir, not the design of the winemaker.

Marc Lee

Madelyn Miller and Alberto Arizu

Arizu, 41, is the oldest of four brothers, and has worked for the family business all his life. His duties as Commercial and International Affairs Director include marketing and communications. He'd been traveling all week: Miami, New York, New Jersey, and Dallas, and was en route to a wine expo in France.

Interesting tidbits:

• His description of the market in England as demanding, competitive: "They don't produce anything and they drink everything," he said.
• And this line, from distributor Greg LeBlanc: "You cannot drink a complex wine every day."

Marc Lee

Cheese plate, left to right: Grana Padano; buttermilk blue from Monroe, Wisc.; tomme de savoie; brie; Top Hat cheddar; goat cheese from Paula Lambert

Others in attendance: publicist Rebekah Polster, Dallas wine guy Darryl Beeson, Madelyn "Travel Lady" Miller, and Hayley Hamilton, blogger for D Magazine food blog SideDish. After Polster professed her passion for barbecue, chef-owner Jim Severson unearthed some jars of his own bottled BBQ sauce which he presented as gifts.

Marc Lee

Miller, wearing stupendous grape sculpture around her neck, and barbecue fan Rebekah Polster.

See more stories in:

• Food and Drink > Dining / Restaurants
• Food and Drink > Wine

Comments

Nancy Nichols Verified

You look great in purple.

4 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Travis Bush Verified

Kobe pot roast looks super yummy!

4 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Teresa Gubbins Staff

Nancy N, sorry that you are so jealous of that awesome necklace with the big cluster of grapes

4 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

nina_chawla Anonymous

i need that necklace ASAP!

4 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Nancy Nichols Verified

Nina, me first. TG, call that woman. Need, not want, that necklace.

4 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )