Wine Advent-ure Day 6:

Mendoza Nights

Region/Country: Mendoza/Argentina
Grape Varietal: Bonarda

For the 6th day of Advent we’re trying a wine from the Mendoza region of Argentina, featuring a grape varietal we never had before, Bonarda. It’s the number two most planted grape in the country, coming second only to Malbec. Mendoza Nights is a ruby red so deep it’s almost opaque, with flavors of cooked fruit, blackberry, cherry, violet and allspice. Tannins are medium yet pretty soft for a red, complimenting its moderately vibrant acidity. Finish is long with cherry and blackberry lasting on the palate.

I will confess – when I first tried Mendoza Nights I didn’t think much of it; sure it was a solid red, but nothing about it stood out to me, for some reason I mostly just tasted tannins and acid. But now a few hours later, with a properly refreshed palate, I find that there is a fruity complexity that I hadn’t noticed earlier. This is what I described in the first paragraph. I am not sure what was different about now than in the early afternoon, perhaps it needed some time to breathe a bit, but I’m enjoying this wine a lot more now. It just goes to show that sometimes you need to give some wines a second chance. I hope to see more Bonarda wines in the future, and get to know this varietal further.