Much in the news!

I have a lot that I’d like to share with you from a news-filled past week. Our San Rafael Wine Estate appears in New York Magazine’s Special Wedding Issue (honeymoon section), available on newsstands now…and Algodon Mansion’s General Manager, Pablo Veloso, also sent me this pickup of Algodon Mansion in Air France Magazine. You can read more on both of those in the June issue of the Algodon Newsletter.

I came across an interesting article in The Washington Post last week about sommelier Mark Slater (a James Beard Foundation award-recipient for his outstanding wine program) who, when asked what his top seller is, says (a particular brand of) Argentine Malbec; "That stuff flies out of here….I sold 15 cases in a week!" On that topic, a recent WineSur.com article talks about the great potential for Argentine wines in the Asian markets. Evidently reasearch says that fine wine consumption in this sector is expected to grow by 79.3% in the next two years. That’s a remarkable number- the population in China alone is 1.3 Billion.

Here we have good news for you racing fans; AP is reporting that Argentina may be hosting a Formula One race next year, probably in Buenos Aires. Be sure to book your rooms at the mansion.

In anticipation of the French Open, The Wall Street Journal ran this fun tennis piece about the joys of playing on a clay court; “Increasingly, some of the game’s best coaches and tennis officials —even in the normally clay-allergic United States —see mastering the dusty red stuff as crucial to achieving all-around greatness.” Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that I am a huge lover of the game. I’m looking forward to playing on our clay courts, as well as each of our 2 grass courts and our sunken Grand Center Court that seats nearly 700 people. By the way, here’s a photo taken last week of the land being cleared for the courts’ construction:

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather!

--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