Wine & Wine Shops

Have a look at our new Malbec label.  Nice!

 Algodon wines sold well in Buenos Aires in 2009, and we think 2010 will be even better.  Many of the city’s high-end wine shops, who just recently began carrying our wines, have already made second or third orders of our wine for their inventory.  Algodon Wine Estates 2009 & 2010 harvests were impressive to say the least, and with our wine panel’s expertise, I believe we are going to see some incredible results. 

Algodon Wine Estates Extra Virgin Olive Oil is now available in one of these wine shops, and we’re working hard to get them on the shelves of the rest of them very soon, as well.

-Scott L. Mathis

Algodon Food, Algodon Wine Update

I am very excited to tell you about Chez Nous’ Algodon Black Label Burger.   It’s dynamite!  Truly.  In fact, it’s worth the trip down to Buenos Aires for this meal alone.  The burger is made using only the highest quality of Certified Black Angus Tenderloin and braised lamb, and includes a very special whisky sauce that is extraordinary.  You have to taste it for yourself.  Algodon Mansion’s Executive Chef Antonio Soriano has done a terrific job with this (as he has with the rest of the menu), and our Black Label Burger is very appropriately named.

At Algodon Wine Estates, Senior Wine Advisor Marcelo Pelleriti has submitted his latest report on our vines since his last recent visit.  Among other things, Marcelo said that the recent work done on the vineyard is really starting to show and that the vines are looking great.  They’ll soon begin the maturity analysis for our white varieties; Semillon, Chenin and Chardonnay.  Our team is also beginning the micro vinification preparation for our 2010 Chardonnay.  Very exciting.

- Scott Mathis

Marcelo Pelleriti

While in the office the other day, we were discussing the significance of the awards won by the newest addition to Algodon Wine Estates’ wine panel, Senior Advisor Marcelo Pelleriti.  His wines have received several ratings in the 90s (some as high as 98) from Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.  For those of you who don’t know, Robert Parker is arguably the most influential wine critic in the world.  His newsletter, The Wine Advocate, is a bimonthly publication whose published ratings dramatically affect prices and demand for the wines it reviews.  In fact, according to this website: 

“Robert Parker's influence on fine wine prices cannot be overstated. As one observer once noted, ‘When Robert Parker spits, the world listens’. Historically the wines that Robert Parker gives high scores to, particularly scores over 90 points, tend to be the wines that show the biggest increase in value. Many Bordeaux producers now wait for Parker's ratings before setting the release price of their wines.”

In addition to working with us, Marcelo also serves as Enologist to Bodega y Viñedos Monteviejo and he produces several wines related in some way to the celebrated Clos de Los Siete (including Clos de Siete) in Mendoza.  I mention this of course, because in addition to the wines in France that he received high marks in the 90s for, several of his Mendoza wines received comparable marks in the 90s as well. 

Marcelo has mentioned that he feels our Bonarda in particular can someday amount to being rated “among the best in the world”.  Yes, in the world.  Given the often praised soil quality of Cuadro Benegas (where we are located), and Marcelo’s remarkable resume, I don’t hesitate to think that he may very well be the one to get us there.

-Scott Mathis

Algodon Wine is on the right track!

Happy New Year once again, everyone.  I hope your celebrations were enjoyable.

After a recent private tasting, our wine advisor and Master of Wine Anthony Foster shared with us his personal thoughts on our latest 2008 and 2009 vintages.  He says we have some real potential with this year’s vintages, and that some of our wines are “real stars”.  He even recommends submitting two or three of them to international wine competitions in the future, as he feels confident that they will garner accolades.

Here is a preview of our 2008 label designs.  They look great!

We are also all very happy with the hiring of our new wine advisor, Marcelo Pelleriti.  Marcelo recently earned 98 point ratings for wines with which he was associated with (Chateau La Violette and Chateau Le Gay) from Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate.  Marcelo will join our wine panel in the planning and execution of the betterment of our vineyards, harvest and winemaking.

We are on the right track!

-Scott Mathis

Algodon expands its online horizons

Algodon Wine Estates and Bombal & Aldao are mentioned in Lugares, an Argentine travel magazine.  Pick up a copy if you’re down there. 

A friend forwarded this link to me:  a Google book search of Algodon Wine Estates reveals that on page 81 of George M. Taber’s book In Search of Bacchus: Wanderings in the Wonderful World of Wine Tourism, Algodon Wine Estates and InvestProperty Group are both mentioned. 

In keeping up with the times, our Algodon Properties now each have their own Facebook pages.  We’ve included some great pictures, so be sure to check out the photo galleries.  If you happen to be on Facebook yourself, by all means “become a fan” of the properties.  

Click here for Algodon Wine Estates on Facebook. 

Click here for Algodon Wines on Facebook. 

Click here for Algodon Mansion on Facebook.  

We’ll be keeping these pages as updated as possible with the latest photos, events, and accolades, so visit them often. 

-Scott Mathis

The Gold Medals Continue!

If you’ve been following my blog, then you know that just two weeks ago Algodon Wine Estates was presented the Global Award in Accommodation from Great Wine Capitals’ 2010 “BEST OF WINE TOURISM” competition. This award of course follows our trophies on the national level in Argentina from the same competition: the 2010 Gold Medal for Accommodation and the 2010 Silver Medal for Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences (for the 3rd year in a row). In addition to the remarkable abundance of unsolicited positive press, reviews and write-ups- the awards and Gold Medals have literally been stacking up. It was announced last week that our outstanding wines have won four more awards! At the 9th edition of VINANDINO, an international competition of wines and spirits, Algodon Wine Estates 2006 Bonarda won a Gold Medal, and our 2006 Malbec won a Silver Medal. This year’s competition included a total of 836 entrants from Germany, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, France, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Spain, Romania, Switzerland, Portugal and, of course, Argentina. The jury consisted of 35 international and 60 national experts. In an unrelated competition called CODEVIN, a San Rafael wine tasting event organized by local winemakers, Algodon Wine Estates 2009 Bonarda and 2008 Malbec, were rated to be among the top 15 wines in region, out of a total of 120 entrants. Congratulations to our winemaker Mauro Nosenzo and our Ambassador of Wine Camilo Aldao, as well as to all of our partners for the hard work they put in! Let’s all raise a glass of Algodon Wine Estates’ Gold Medal winning Bonarda, and toast to Algodon’s continued successes (and even more Gold Medals) in 2010 and beyond! --Scott Mathis

More Algodon in the media!

Algodon Mansion’s Rent the Mansion package is currently being promoted at Affluent Page Luxury Index. “Why share a hotel when you can have the whole thing?” they ask. From their website: Affluent Page Luxury Index is a luxury consumer magazine devoted to marketing luxury brands and upscale services. Published bi-monthly, the magazine is nationally distributed to readers, with a net worth of $10 Million and up.

Algodon Mansion also appears in the October issue of Argentina’s American Express Platinum Card Magazine, which goes out to over 22,000 platinum cardholders.

DPEC Partners also gets a nice independent write-up on investing in Argentina at Nuwireinvestor.com (I’m also interviewed in the article.)

We received more great news for Algodon Wines; our Sales & Marketing Coordinator at Algodon Wine Estates has done an excellent job getting our wines in some very important wine stores in Buenos Aires and beyond. Our label will now be available in “Wine Gallery” wine shop, located at 1780 Montevideo, in Recoleta. That’s just one block from Algodon Mansion. Algodon Wine can also be found at a “Wine Gallery” wine shop at 1811 Av. Cramer, in BA’s Belgrano neighborhood.

In the press last week; Food and Wine magazine announced their list of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires. Let’s get Algodon Mansion’s Chez Nous on this list next year! In sports news; with Del Potro’s Open win a few months back, the Los Angeles Times dubs Argentina the “Cradle of Tennis Stardom”! We always seem to be in the right place at the right time nowadays! Perhaps Algodon Wine Estates' Tennis Center will be the birthplace of talent for future Grand Slam Winners under the guidance and tutelage of, say for example, José Luis Clerc. Very exciting!

--Scott Mathis

Chez Nous Sampling

Last week when I was visiting Buenos Aires on business, I had the pleasure of meeting once again with our new Executive Chef, Antonio Soriano, in order to discuss and sample a selection of menu items for Chez Nous. The purpose of this preview sampling was to familiarize Algodon Mansion’s principle and executive staff with the menu and its ingredients, by experiencing it firsthand. These are the people who will need to be well acquainted with the tastes, aromas, ingredients and the stories behind the recipes and foods that inhabit Chez Nous’ menu. This was also an opportunity for us to ask any questions, and provide any input we might have in relation to the menu. The sampling was comprised of nearly everything that the dinner menu will feature. We shared an open forum to confer our tasting experiences, and discussed the pairing of certain Algodon Wines with certain menu items, since Algodon Wine will be highly emphasized on Chez Nous’ wine list. One of my favorite items on the menu was a mushroom truffle mouse. Antonio, along with Gonzalo Bazterrica (Chef de Cuisine) and Damian Betular (Pastry Chef) were careful to explain to us each dish’s preparation. As virtually all of our ingredients are regional, these proficient chefs were also very informing about where each of the ingredients came from. For example, the oysters and the sea bass are from Patagonia, the garlic is from Mendoza, and the beef (of course) is 100% grass-fed Argentine beef. I must say that the three chefs appear to have a real affinity for working together, and their seemingly seamless preparation would indicate to someone who didn’t know better, that these three share camaraderie from having worked together for years. Their skills are exceptional. Damian was even able to weave some of his pastry expertise into the main menu with a certain shrimp appetizer wrapped in phyllo dough. It was extraordinary. I wish I knew more about the restaurant industry, but I am certain that our investors and customers will enjoy Chez Nous, and I hope this will be a profitable venture. We’ve decided on this logo for the restaurant: This design may, for example, appear in on the menu cover, in certain advertising, and on incidentals such as matchbooks or restaurant stationary. --Scott Mathis

1st Wine Barrel Program Shipment!

This week I’d like to share some photos related to our personalized wine barrel program. The following pictures are from our partnered winery, Bombal & Aldao, where much of our wine is barreled. The personalize vintages of our first wine barrel program (from our 2007-2008 harvest) have officially been sent to barrel owners, who will be receiving their bottles soon. The above photo is of several barrels assigned to, and labeled with the name of, individual barrel owners. Each barrel contains the custom blend or varietal of each individual’s choosing. The next photo gives you an idea of what our cellar looks like. The following photo shows the custom hand-labeling of our barrel program’s bottles. Each label is customized to the specifications of the barrel owner, including their name, design, and any description or text they might want to appear. As a barrel owner myself, I’m personally looking forward to receiving my “Mathis Estates” bottles any day now! Our bi monthly newsletter is due out soon, and it’s packed full of Algodon Property updates. You’ll be very pleased with Gerhard Heusch’s new rendering of the Grand Center Court for Algodon Wine Estates’ tennis center. The one time dream of hosting Mendoza’s top tennis tournament, The Algodon Malbec Classic, is slowly turning into a reality. Look for our latest online issue of The Algodon next week! --Scott Mathis

Malbec scores, more Malbec, Cabrera, BA, New York Mag...

Great news! Anthony Dias Blue, in association with the James Beard Foundation, rates Algodon Wine Estates 2004 Malbec with a score of 90 points! Mr. Blue is one of the most influential food and wine personalities in the U.S., and his media reaches an audience of more than 30,000,000 global consumers each month. The review will appear in the next issue of The Tasting Panel Magazine’s “Blue’s Reviews” section, where every month Mr. Blue tastes approximately 500 wines and chooses the best 35 to publish his reviews of. I’ll be sure to repost the web address once it’s up. In the meantime, you can read more about Mr. Blue’s broadcast and media affiliations here.

From The Washington Post, here’s another great article about Argentine Malbec; “Ask a retailer or restaurant sommelier which wines are most popular today, and one of the first answers you're likely to get will be…Malbec from Argentina. Ask which wines over-perform for their price, and you'll probably get the same answer.” The author of the piece, which is aptly titled “Argentina's Andes Advantage”, specifies three main ingredients for the success of the Argentine wine; value, quality, and altitude. That’s what we’ve been saying all along, but what they fail to mention is that San Rafael’s district of Cuadro Benegas- where Algodon Wine Estates is located- provides unparalleled soil quality that is ideal for growing red varietals such as Malbec and Bonarda. In case you missed it in the last newsletter, here’s an informative elaboration on that topic written by Algodon’s Winemaker, and Director of Project Development, Tourism & Hospitality.

With Angel Cabrera’s major title win at the recent U.S. Master’s, he has singlehandedly brought the words “Argentina” and “golf” together in many a conversation around the world. I believe his win will prove to be good news for us and our 18-hole championship course in San Rafael, as well as for Argentine golf in general. As many of you already know, Cabrera is the first Argentine- let alone the first South American- golfer to win the Master’s; considered by many to be golf's most prestigious tournament. Here’s a recent article in TWP that describes his homecoming.

Reuters recently published an article headlined Some pick Argentina as haven from economic blues, which specifically talks about the younger generation – people in their 20s and early 30s - moving to BA for its financial benefits; “Buenos Aires, a sophisticated, European-style capital in South America that long has been popular with savvy tourists and artistic bohemians, is now a haven for some young adults from Europe and the United States who find their savings go further here…”

On a similar theme, New York Magazine’s Real Estate section asks “What If You Left New York?”: “New Yorkers have a special affinity for the similarly cosmopolitan lifestyle of Buenos Aires, where real estate is cheap and the weather is currently 70 degrees and sunny.” The piece compares real estate prices for the two cities – specifically BA’s Avenida del Libertador vs. NYC’s Fifth Ave., saying; “For a comparable apartment here, you’d have to pay eight times as much…” This of course puts me in mind of our own comparison from a few months ago of Algodon Mansion vs. Manhattan’s Upper Eastside mansion.

--Scott Mathis

AWE in USA Today & Argentine Wine Imports Are Up!

In case you missed the announcement in our newsletter, we made a recent appearance in USA Today and a few others notable publications including DailyCandy.com, The Buenos Aires Times, MSNBC.com, and The Tampa Tribune. I try my best to keep this online journal as updated as I can regarding these media mentions, and it pleases me to say that some months it’s difficult to keep up because there are so many to report. A great article was forwarded to me recently, in which a California wine importer has reported a 34% increase in Argentine wine imports; “For the last 10 years, we’ve watched the demand for Argentine wines grow year after year…” You can read the full article here. I find articles like this almost on a daily basis. They all seem to say the same thing over and over; which is that despite the global economic slowdown, the Argentine wine industry is booming in the U.S.

New York Wine Expo

Wines of Argentina recently requested that we join them in their display tent at the prestigious New York Wine Expo, and they’ve also asked us to participate in a showcased tasting that will take place there called “Argentina's Unparalleled Malbecs.” If you’re in town during the event (Feb 27th & 28th); stop by the Jacob Javits Center and come sample our wine. - Scott Mathis

New Wine Labels, New Media Articles

Our new wine label designs have been finalized, and they look great. We will be utilizing them on all of the wine bottles from now on. There is a significant difference between the new labels and our previous ones in that we have chosen to discontinue the “Viñas del Golf” name and design in the marketing of the wine, and strictly use the Algodon Wine Estates branding from here on out. The Viñas del Golf name and logo will still represent the resort itself, however we wanted to establish a clear and distinct difference in the marketing of our wine and winery.

There is a great article on WineSur.com regarding the surge in popularity and recognition of Argentine Bonarda; “2008 could be remembered as the year of the ‘re-discovery’ of Bonarda”. You can read the full article here: Bonarda: a new Malbec? While on the subject of WineSur, we’re also mentioned in a recent online article regarding Argentine wine tourism here: Wineries renew programs to attract tourism. Both articles are good reads, and the latter addresses the concern of 2009’s potential decline in tourism numbers, and our strategy to combat that possibility.

- Scott Mathis

New Wine Labels, New Media Articles

Our new wine label designs have been finalized, and they look great. We will be utilizing them on all of the wine bottles from now on. There is a significant difference between the new labels and our previous ones in that we have chosen to discontinue the “Viñas del Golf” name and design in the marketing of the wine, and strictly use the Algodon Wine Estates branding from here on out. The Viñas del Golf name and logo will still represent the resort itself, however we wanted to establish a clear and distinct difference in the marketing of our wine and winery. There is a great article on WineSur.com regarding the surge in popularity and recognition of Argentine Bonarda; “2008 could be remembered as the year of the ‘re-discovery’ of Bonarda”. You can read the full article here: Bonarda: a new Malbec? While on the subject of WineSur, we’re also mentioned in a recent online article regarding Argentine wine tourism here: Wineries renew programs to attract tourism. Both articles are good reads, and the latter addresses the concern of 2009’s potential decline in tourism numbers, and our strategy to combat that possibility.

Algodon Wine - Recent Praise

Great news, folks! Our Director of Project Development, Tourism & Hospitality at Algodon Wine Estates, Diego Coll Benegas, has informed us that our Cabernet Sauvignon has scored high at an American Master Sommelier wine tasting- with an 8 out of 10 rating! Our Cabernet also won the distinction of “Best Buy” of all the wines participating. We feel truly honored because the wineries we were competing against are absolutely some of the best wineries in all Argentina. The wine tasting event was hosted by Wines of Argentina. While on the subject, I also want to mention that our wine was chosen to be featured at the 2008 Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards here in Manhattan in Jan ’09. This annual award ceremony is conducted by Wine Enthusiast magazine to recognize excellence in the crafting, marketing and distribution of wine and spirits worldwide. This year, Mendoza won for “Wine Region of the Year.” The ceremony planners asked 25 wineries to submit their wines to represent Mendoza at the event, and Algodon Wine Estates was one of ten selected. There are over 1,000 wineries in Mendoza…so again, quite an honor. I think things are looking pretty good for us.

Algodon Wine Tasting in NYC

We had a great turnout at Union Square Wines. There were about 100 people who attended the event. Thank you all for coming! It was a very successful night, and our guests of honor from San Rafael, Mendoza included our partners at the Bombal & Aldao Winery, Camilo Aldao and his wife Luisa; as well as our terrific winemaker, Mauro Nosenzo; and our Director of Project Development, Tourism & Hospitality (Algodon Wine Estates) and Head of Food & Beverage (Algodon Mansion), Diego Coll Benegas. Camilo got up to address the crowd, and was very personable. As for the wine; crowd favorites, so I’m told, seemed to be the Cab/Syrah, and the French Oaked Chardonnay. However I’m particularly partial to the Bonarda, myself. Click here to watch a video picture album of the night’s highlights.

I just received a wonderful email from Camilo, who said that our 2008 harvest is an outstanding one and that we can expect an exceptional Malbec, in particular, after its oak barrel aging. We are also moving forward with a strategy to cultivate and create the best wines our wineries have ever produced by including the utilization of the highest quality casks, optimum grape selection, and getting rid of anything that is not perfect.