Alta Vista Estate Torrontes 2011
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Wine &
Spirits -
Robert
Parker
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Winemaker Notes
This wine pairs wonderfully with grilled fish, fresh shellfish and focaccia topped with tapenade.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
A definitive torrontes from Salta, this is perfumed in the extreme. The flavors are broad and generous, gracious and seductive, with a depth that only old vines (these nearly 50 years old) can deliver.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Alta Vista Premium Torrontes was harvested via three passes through the vineyard in Cafayate and such exacting standards show in this great wine. It has a boisterous, quasi-Gewurztraminer bouquet of lemon zest, barley sugar and apricot that leaps out of the glass. The palate is well-balanced with peach and elderflower on the entry, and expresses the varietal with some style. This is an effervescent, somehow life-affirming white wine.
Other Vintages
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
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Suckling
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Robert
Parker
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Wine &
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Unapologetically fun and distinctively fragrant, Torrontés is regarded as the signature white grape of Argentina. In many ways it bears a striking resemblance to Muscat (and in fact is an offspring of Muscat of Alexandria). Sommelier Secret—If you’re in search of a new summer sipper, look no further than Torrontés. These wines are always inexpensive, delightfully refreshing and are best enjoyed in the sunny outdoors at a picnic, poolside or on the porch.
With vineyards tretching along the eastern side of the Andes Mountains from Patagonia in the south to Salta in the north, Argentina is one of the world’s largest and most dynamic wine producing countries—and most important in South America.
Since the late 20th century vineyard investments, improved winery technology and a commitment to innovation have all contributed to the country’s burgeoning image as a producer of great wines at all price points. The climate here is diverse but generally continental and agreeable, with hot, dry summers and cold snowy winters—a positive, as snow melt from the Andes Mountains is used heavily to irrigate vineyards. Grapes very rarely have any difficulty achieving full ripeness.
Argentina’s famous Mendoza region, responsible for more than 70% of Argentina’s wine production, is further divided into several sub-regions, with Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley most noteworthy. Red wines dominate here, especially Malbec, the country’s star variety, while Chardonnay is the most successful white.
The province of San Juan is best known for blends of Bonarda and Syrah. Torrontés is a specialty of the La Rioja and Salta regions, the latter of which is also responsible for excellent Malbecs grown at very high elevation.