Christie Kiley on March 30, 2015 0 Comments You can find ‘Bordeaux Blends’ all over the world, blends of those five lovely grapes of the Medoc; Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. They can be subtle, classic and elegant or they can be robust, rich and nothing short of bold. Some may ask what my favorite wine is. How am I to answer that? A wine is a wine is a wine. Each wine comes from a different place, in a different time. The way I look at it is if the winemaker can make something truly beautiful out of what Mother Nature has given him, then that is the definition of a great wine. The final product of a wine is contingent on what Mother Nature had to offer that year. It is just >up to the winemaking team to decide what they will do to translate it into the bottle. The Author The translator of the Tikal Jubilo 2012 is Ernesto Catena. He is the owner of the Ernesto Catena Vineyards. He comes from a long line of winemakers and the Catena name in wine of Argentina is almost synonymous with royalty, at least when it comes to some of the top quality and iconic wines of the country. However, Ernesto is not your typical winemaker and he was not always sure he would have followed a career in the wine industry as the previous generations of his family had. A lot of people associate the people of Argentina to bohemians. Even today in the modern world, there are still poets, numerous musicians and travelers of the world. They immerse themselves in their culture, their language and their land and their passions. Ernesto began with a degree in economics and computer science. Later on, he found himself in Milan where he earned a Master’s in design and then in history in London. To simply refer to Ernesto by the title as winemaker would be selling him short. He is an artist, a horseman as he dabbles a bit in the sport of polo, he is a collector. If anything, the title of winemaker might fall later on down the list. In a recent interview with one of Argentina’s periodicals, Ernesto stated, “[He] likes to see himself more as an artist who creates things and regulates sensations, not some technician of the industry.” When he returned to Argentina, he got . He is the fourth generation of winemakers now in his family and got his start at the Escorihuela estate, Mendoza’s oldest and longest consecutive active winery. He eventually became the president of the winery and stayed on for ten years. While working there, he had a vision in how he might want to make his own wines. His beliefs of high quality wines were in smaller batches, made by hand and crafted with care. By 2002, he set out to create the Ernesto Catena Vineyards. The Property The estate consists of a total of 178 acres with 116 planted in vine. The property was organic certified in 2011 and by 2012 they were certified biodynamic with the Demeter certification. For Ernesto, it is about being good to Mother Nature for sustainability and the future and of course the quality of his wine. Here you can find Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc located in the Uco Valley in the heart of Vistaflores of Mendoza. The vines live in high-desert conditions at 3,576 feet above sea level. Tikal Jubilo ‘Jubilo’ translates as ‘celebration’ in English or ‘jubilee’. After all, that is what wine should be, perhaps it is not possible all the time, but it is a product of our gastronomic world which deserves and should be celebrated. It is a gift. It is living product which represents nature and its origins. This blend is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Malbec. All the fruit was harvest by hand from twenty-six year old vines. The wine was aged for twelve months in seventy percent new French oak and thirty percent being second use. This is one of those Bordeaux blends that fall in the bold category. It is robust, but somehow does not lose its elegance with a presence of berry fruits on the nose of black cherry and some berry pie with a toasty buttery crust. It is seductive on the palate and soft with subtle tannin and mouth-watering finish of the best 70% cacao chocolates, chocolate-covered cherries, cola and juicy red currant.
