Mansion Lightwell, Jurado Memorabilia, & Other News…

I received some great photo updates from Pedro Lagleyze (Algodon Mansion’s Construction & Project Manager) recently, including the following shot of the six-story glass partition in the lightwell that descends to the lobby:

In late November (around the time of Algodon Mansion’s Grand Opening), La Indiana Polo Club will host a post-tournament awards and dinner at the mansion’s restaurant, and cocktails will be served at the rooftop pool bar. This particular tournament is called the J.M Baillieu Cup and it coincides with the Argentine Open. We’ll be having a very busy holiday season this year.

Our Manhattan office recently acquired an authentic “International Newsreel” photograph from 1931 of the Prince of Wales and José Jurado. The gentleman were close friends and known golfing compatriots. José Jurado’s grandson originally developed our San Rafael golf course and winery before it became Algodon Wine Estates. Jurado is hailed as the “Father of Argentine Professional Golf”, and is perhaps best known for his losing stroke to Tommy Armour at the 1931 British Open. His famous double bogey was at Carnoustie Golf Club's 17th hole, and is reproduced on Algodon Wine Estates’ course. Jurado appears in the photo on the far right, and the Prince is next to him:

A caption typed on the back of the photo says; “With a matching beret, the Prince of Wales is shown spending his first day back in England, on the Golf Links at Sunningdale. He played with the Argentine Professionals who are in England to take part in the British Golf Championships.” We will most likely be displaying this photo in the new clubhouse.

Bloomberg.com is reporting that Argentina seeks to return to global markets this year after making $2.25 billion in interest payments. “It’s very important to fulfill our obligations, pay the debt so that the country can return to global credit markets before year-end,” Economy Minister Amado Boudou said. Good news for Argentina.

--Scott Mathis

Organic wine, Olive Oil, Grass Courts, and Hitting the Slopes

According to WineSur.com, Argentine organic wines are growing in popularity. In case you missed our last newsletter, Algodon Wine Estates has set aside 2.1 acres of Malbec vineyards and 2.1 acres of Bonarda vineyards for organic treatment. Organic certification for these vineyards won’t be achieved for three years; however it is yet another income-generating and value-building aspect of our versatile wine estate.

Diego Coll Benegas (Algodon Wine Estates’ Director of Project Development, Tourism & Hospitality) wrote me today to tell me that our olive oil is bottled! I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying it while dining at the estate’s award-winning restaurant; it is truly delicious and is the perfect complement to our wines. The new Algodon Olive Oil labels look great as well. I hope we can show them to you in the next newsletter, which is due out in just a few weeks.

I’ve been in conversations with our design architect, Gerhard Heusch, regarding a new design for Algodon Wine Estates’ entrance/gate in the next phase of construction. I like the idea of incorporating, or rather I’m inspired by, the conceptual design of a traditional Argentine Estancia. My feeling is that this will give the entrance a warm and welcoming aesthetic. Once we have some preliminary sketches, I’ll be sure to share them with you. Also, as construction on our tennis courts continues, we decided to add one more grass court (at no significant added expense), which will give us a total of three grass courts. Had we decided to only construct two, we already would have been highly regarded as an important tennis destination. Three grass courts just ups-the-ante; as we will be the only three-court facility in all of Argentina.

The Argentine Post has an informative piece on skiing in Argentina. Although Bariloche is featured in the article, Las Leñas is also mentioned. As you may already know, Las Leñas, one of the best ski resorts on the continent, is just a 2 hour drive from Algodon Wine Estates. Something to keep in mind when planning your next trip to Mendoza!

Algodon Mansion bath products, and Buenos Aires makes top 10 again…

It was recently decided that Algodon Mansion’s suites will carry Côté Bastide and Laura Tonatto bath and fragrance products. These are world-class lines that truly fit well and compliment our Buenos Aires mansion, as well as the Algodon brand image. Both distinguished lines have a large international presence and are synonymous with sophistication and elegance. As these small, though essential, details begin to finalize, it forces me to look back on the road traveled to get here, and I am happy by all that we have accomplished. Just a few more months and we can all share a toast to one another at Algodon Mansion’s Grand Opening.

Once again, Buenos Aires has made Travel & Leisure’s “Top 10 World’s Best Cities”. BA is ranked #4 this year (slipping two spots from #2 in 2007 and 2008). The accompanying article touts; “Beyond the “Paris-of-South-America” clichés, this is a city of world-class art, exceptional cuisine, and internationally acclaimed design. After a 2001 crisis battered the nation’s economy and the value of its currency, B.A. became one of the world’s few high-gloss/low-cost travel destinations…”

Finally, there was a great recent article in the New York Times on BA’s “bares notables”. In 1998, the city legislated these “notable bars” (a landmarked status, I suppose) “as the official designation for bars, cafes, billiard halls and confectionaries whose antiquity, architecture or historical significance make them worthy of note and of preservation efforts”. The article details several of these businesses and their unique histories. If you’re making a trip down there anytime soon, be sure to print this one out and take it with you. There are some very interesting places that are perhaps a bit off the beaten tourist track. If you remember, just a few weeks ago I posted about the Times’ take on BA’s Barracas barrio. I’m pleased to see that such a well respected newspaper is continually covering so much of the culture from one of my favorite cities in the world.

Tennis court photo update!

I’d like to share a letter I received last week from Algodon Wine Estates’ Director of Finance and Administration, Rubén Barsamian. Rubén’s been doing a great job in San Rafael pushing the tennis construction forward. Here’s his photo update regarding the tennis courts:

“Scott,

Attached I'm sending updated photos of the tennis center construction. The first one corresponds to the twin clay courts to the west, covered with chipped brick:”

“The second picture shows the already leveled site for the four clay courts that will be built next to the first two. There the bricks have to be placed and leveled and the retaining wall needs to be constructed:”

“The third photo shows the single clay court to the east, near the golf fairway:”

Muchas gracias, Señor Rubén. What a great partner we have in Buenos Aires. Without his steadfast force and direction, we would not be seeing such great forward movement. Our construction team has also finished work on the new canal:

Algodon Wine Estates was featured recently in Los Andes newspaper, which may perhaps be described as the “New York Times” of Mendoza. Check it out even if you don’t read Spanish; there are a few corresponding photos…

--Scott Mathis

Algodon Mansion update, and wine tours

We received a nice Algodon Mansion update from Pedro Lagleyze this week. Some of the highlights include; the installation of the mirrored televisions in the bathrooms; the installation of the lightwell waterfall now that the six-story glass partition has been put up (see last week’s entry); finishing up painting in several suites; and nearly all of the kitchen equipment has been installed. Here’s a photo of the glass ceiling which will cover the outside patio in the dining room:

It looks great. We’re just waiting for the aluminum finishing for it to be complete.

The Wall Street Journal gives its readers some ideas of what to do for summer vacation. Titled “Camps for Grown Ups”, one of their recommendations is to attend a summer Wine Camp in Long Island. The camp “covers the topics of vineyard work, the terroir of Long Island, chemistry of winemaking, blending, and food and wine pairing.” This sounds like our own guided tours and tasting seminars at Algodon Wine Estates. Ours include wine descriptions, terminology and practices. People who take our tour get a detailed tutorial regarding vineyards, planting methods, irrigation, climate, and the manual labor involved in maintaining a successful winery. In fact, if the weather is nice on that day, you can even pick your own grapes. The tasting seminars always end with a platter of smoked cuts, artisan cheeses and olives.

By the way, I’d like to wish everyone here in the U.S. a very happy 4^th of July! Have a great weekend.

--Scott Mathis