Great Values out of Argentina and Chile!

Wallet feeling a little tight these days?
These are some great in house bargains you shouldn't pass up (that we carry virtually all the time) - some of these are perfect for parties and daily table wines, others are more special - yet still a great value. And I would agree with Parker when he says that Catena, the winery responsible for both the Catena Alta, Zapata and Alamos labels, is the winery of reference in Argentina, in which all others must measure up.
Big Tattoo - the first wine offered on this list, donates 50 cents of each bottle they sell to Breast Cancer research. Since 2001, they have raised over 1 million dollars. Wow! You get to drink wine and feel good about it.


Big Tattoo Red 2006
Cabernet, Syrah
$7.99
Parker 85 "The 2 Brothers Big Tattoo Red, a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Syrah, has been a major hit for the Bartholomaus brothers, one a tattoo artist and the other the blender/importer of the wine. A portion of the receipts supports breast cancer research and has already raised a remarkable amount of money. As for the wine, the 2005 Big Tattoo Red offers generous quantities of pepper, cassis, currant, and cherry aromas and flavors. It is a supple, easy-drinking wine with no hard edges. Drink it over the next 12-18 months".

Alamos
Chardonnay 2007
$9.99
Tanzer 88 "Pale green-tinged yellow. Aromas of peach, spice and butterscotch, with a hint of exotic fruit salad. Sweet, slightly exotic flavors of ripe peach, nectarine and spices are nicely framed by surprisingly brisk acidity and lifted by some unabsorbed CO2 This very fresh midweight offers a lot of flavor intensity for the price. Substantial and appealing"

Alamos
Malbec 2007
$9.99
WS 88 "Very polished. Soft plum and boysenberry fruit flavors are layered with mocha and vanilla notes. Creamy finish. Almost too soft, but will have fans for its fruit. Drink now".

Alamos
Torrontes 2007
$9.99
WS 87 "Nice and plump, with pink grapefruit, tangerine and persimmon notes and a rich, pure finish. A step up for the grape. Drink now".

Alamos
Bonarda 2006
$10.99
WS 88 "This is dressed up a bit, with mocha and black tea notes leading the way for supple plum and licorice flavors, followed by a toasty finish. A crowd-pleaser. Drink now".

Alamos
Seleccion Malbec 2006
WS 89 "Nice vivid purple and blue fruit flavors run through this red, with creamy-textured mocha, spice cake and licorice notes and a lively, fruit-filled finish. Drink now".

Cousino Macul
Antiguas Reservas Chardonnay 2006
$14.99
WS 90 "Many Chilean wineries have difficulty with Chardonnay due to problems integrating oak and fruit components. Cousino Macul seems to have mastered the production of value-priced Chardonnay. The outstanding 2006 Chardonnay Antiguas Reserva has no such problem. Featuring toasty pear, apple, and tropical fruit aromas and flavors, it has excellent depth and concentration, superior balance, and a lengthy, pure finish. It is a great value in well-made Chardonnay competing with wines twice the price".

Catena Malbec 2005
$19.99
WS 90 and Among Outstanding Values from around the World "Rich and polished, with alluring fig, mocha, boysenberry, ganache and sweet spice notes that glide along creamy tannins and through the long, velvety finish".
Parker 91 "Catena’s 2005 Malbec was sourced from four vineyards, was aged for 12 months in 70% French oak, 20% new, and 30% new American oak, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Deep crimson-colored, it has an attractive perfume of cedar, pencil lead, mineral, and black cherry. Medium-bodied, it has a silky texture, serious depth and length for a wine of this price, well-concealed tannin, and a pure finish. Although it can be enjoyed now, this stylish Malbec will continue to improve with several more years in the bottle. It is a great value".
Tanzer 90 "Bright medium ruby. Varietally expressive aromas of blackberry, black cherry, licorice, dark chocolate, game, leather and fresh blood. Densely packed, suave and dry, with a creaminess to the flavors of black raspberry, leather and licorice. Quite suave and supple in texture; classically dry but fully ripe. Finishes with a hint of leathery reduction but also lovely aromatic lift and lingering sweetness. (A second bottle of equal quality finished lush, suave and clean, without any sign of reduction.)".

Catena Chardonnay
$16.99
Tanzer 91 "Yellow with a gold tinge. Deeply pitched aromas of stone fruits, spices, honey, flowers, dusty stone and toasty oak; showed a note of apricot candy with aeration. Rich, ripe flavors of peach, apricot and sexy oak spices show a lovely sweetness. More viscous than the Alamos chardonnay but kept fresh by strong acidity. This silky, very concentrated wine finishes with an impressively persistent flavor of ripe apricot. Catena continues to be in a class of its own for chardonnay in Argentina".
Parker 90 "Catena Zapata’s 2006 Chardonnay was sourced from three estate vineyards and fermented with natural yeasts. It then spent 10 months sur-lie in French oak, 40% new. Light gold-colored with a slight green tint, it exhibits a nose of slate, toast, butterscotch, pear, and apple. Medium-bodied, the wine is nicely balanced by crisp acidity, and the flavors are intense and persistent. Drink this outstanding value over the next 1-2 years".

We at Ansley call this Catena Alta a baby Corton-Charlemagne!

Catena Alta
Chardonnay
Adrianna Vineyard
$29.99
Parker 92 "The 2005 Alta Chardonnay comes from the Adrianna Vineyard at 4850 feet of elevation. It is 100% barrel-fermented using natural yeasts and went through full malolactic fermentation. It was aged sur-lie for 12 months in 60% new French oak. Light to medium gold in color, it has a distinguished aromatic profile of mineral, white flowers, toast, vanilla, apple, and poached pear. This is followed by a medium-bodied, concentrated, layered Chardonnay with flavors of fig and citrus also emerging on the palate. The wine has great balance and should evolve for another 2-3 years. It should age in the manner of a top-level white Burgundy and provide pleasure through 2014".
WS 92 "Really enticing nose, with flavors of pineapple, cherimoya and yellow plum fruit. Has a suave grilled hazelnut streak and a long finish that shows excellent clarity. Drink now through 2009".

Catena Alta
Malbec
$44.99
Parker 94 "The 2004 Alta Malbec was aged for 18 months in French oak, 70% new, and was also bottled unfined and unfiltered. It offers greater aromatic complexity with notes of pepper, clove, leather, and chocolate in addition to violets, black cherry, and blackberry. Medium-bodied and elegant, it has a plush texture, layers of spicy black fruits and minerality, excellent balance, and a 60-second finish. It will evolve for 5-7 years and drink well through 2025".
Tanzer 91+ "Good saturated medium ruby. Very ripe black fruit aromas joined by strong torrefaction notes of bitter chocolate, roast coffee, tar and licorice; plenty of evidence of expensive new oak here. Quite ripe and thick but with impressive delineation to the deep dark berry, leather and chocolate flavors. This actually comes across as less sweet than the regular '05 malbec bottling. A seriously structured malbec that finishes with substantial broad, dusty tannins. Give this one some time in bottle".