(Pre-Wedding) Honeymoon, Part XIV - Argentine Wine Extravaganza continues...

Up and at em!  945am Diego showed up to take us on our tour for the day…we were hitting both Lujan de Coyo and the Uco Valley.

We would begin things at Catena Zapata – one of the most acclaimed vineyards in Argentina and the only one who decided to have their bodega emulate the Mayan Pyramids.

The wine was excellent.  No surprise as I had brought home several bottles of theirs from the BA airport my last trip to Argentina years before.  So it was fun to see where they were made and hear more about the story.  The vineyard had been in the family for over 100 years.  The Malbec, not surprisingly, was excellent.  We only opted for the most basic tasting – after all it was 10:30am!

From the roof of Catena Zapata's Faux Mayan Temple...

From there we visited Belasco de Baquedano. 
We especially enjoyed this visit as they had a huge “aroma room” – the only in South America – where one could smell over 40 unique scents associated with wines – flowers, herbs, animals – you name it.  I, personally, loved the experience smelling everything from roses to cinnamon to hay to musk to sulphur.   And the best part was after that we left to do our tasting and there were four mystery scents for us to identify.  Not to brag or anything but I was pretty spot on – cherries, mushrooms, vanilla and acacia (missed that one but knew it was a flower).

GG taking a whiff...

We enjoyed the tasting, especially the AR Guentota – an aged malbec.  The even more aged Malbec Swinto was also good, but a lot heavier.  Unfortunately, we can’t find these at home either.

Our last stop was an hour ride to the Uco Valley, much more picturesque and closer to the Andean foothills.  Our destination was the Salentein vineyard, a beautiful and large piece of land complete with a restaurant, art gallery, church, and event space.  

Crashing the party at Salentein...

A stop off at Salentein's art gallery...

Pensive, many many times over...

We had lunch there – I really enjoyed my meal including grilled sweetbreads for a starter and a grilled chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese that was flavorful and delicious.  I was quite surprised as this was not a meal that was supposed to be anything special, but I thought it was.  The setting didn’t hurt either – a large cavernous room with indoor/outdoor space and a private event happening on the grass outside.

A heaping (and tasty) portion of sweet breads with a corn puree...

Stuffed chicken...

Simply prepared trout for GG...

We ended up getting a private tour of the winery which was excellent and I did enjoy the Reserva malbec I had at lunch.

From there it was 90 minutes back to the hotel.  I passed out.

Back at the hotel, I went for a swim and then we had a “couples massage.”  I put that in quotes because we were in connecting rooms where they left the door open so I could see GG’s legs and her masseuse and that’s about it.  The massage was quite good and after getting changed we had a drink downstairs and then to dinner at Azafran.

Azafran was highly recommended in a recent NY Times article so we checked it out.  It was a small space in something that resembled a boutique gourmet food and wine store (which I think it is during the day).

They started us with an amuse of grilled octopus on potato which was tender and well seasoned.  So tender, even GG ate it!

Octopus Amuse...

 From there, we selected a Bonardo with the help of the sommelier – a lighter one since we thought we were going for a fish dinner.  He recommended this – from Los Altos Hormigos vineyard - Colonia Las Liebres.  We really enjoyed it – super easy drinking – light, fruit forward and with a little depth.  Plus, we liked the label.

For our starter, we ordered an antipasti of salumi, prosciutto and several cheeses which, along with their fresh bread basket, was excellent.

I can’t say I was super excited about any of the entrees and so I decided to be bold and order a Lomo steak in Argentina.  Granted we had had cow several times this trip, but this was the first time I actually ordered it from a menu.  I think the hot chili chimichurri and housemade French fries probably tipped the scale for me to order it.  GG opted for a beat and goat cheese salad which looked more pretty than it actually tasted.  GG shared some steak with me.

Lomo, tender and tasty...and filling.

Healthy, underwhelming choice.

We were quite full and, for the record, skipped dessert.  Dinner was definitely enjoyable with a cute setting, but certainly not at the level of Frances Mallman 1884.

A mildly satisfied customer in a very cute setting...

More wine - just not Argentine - coming up!