Argentina is staging a rebellion, though fear not: the territory in question is its own vineyard. The country is known for the swagger of its malbec, a wine with the vibrancy of Buenos Aires street art with a side order of machismo. But Argentinian malbec now has a serious challenger on its home soil: cabernet franc – shh – I think I prefer it to the malbec.
Tasting your first Argentinian cabernet franc is a little like discovering that the late Olympian and strongman Geoff Capes was a budgie-fancier (he actually was, fascinated by the nuance and shading of their feathers, according to an interview in the Financial Times). I still remember drinking mine, from Pulenta Estate, many years ago. It was hedonistically plush but also enchantingly fragranced; I wondered why Argentina didn’t plant more of it.
Cabernet franc still represents a small portion of Argentina’s red grape vineyard – 1.8 per cent against malbec’s 42.1 per cent – Lorenasam
Since then, bottles have crossed my radar every so often but never quite enough of them. Until now.
A few weeks ago, I tasted a brilliant Wine Society example that comes from the Uco Valley and costs just £10.50. A couple of days later, over a dinner with some friends across the road, one of them poured me a glass of Zuccardi Regiones Paraje Altamira Cabernet Franc 2023, to go with whole barbecued chicken slathered with oil and herbs, all the while apologising that the wine had “been open a couple of days already”.
Well, if that’s how good it tasted when it was a bit old, I wanted to try a fresh one. I promptly got hold of a bottle of the 2024 (the vintage is currently in flux; the Dorset Wine Company, Latitude Wines, Taurus Wines, DeFINE Food & Wine all have 2023 at 14% or 2024 at 13.5%, around £19-£20). The 2024 needed decanting, briefly, after which it was fantastic. Made from cabernet franc grown at an altitude of more than 3,445ft, it was nuanced and generous but definitely not overdoing it with that generosity, gently oaked in huge casks, one of those rare wines that is satisfyingly easeful but also un-boring; highly recommended.
Cabernet franc, like malbec, is a grape that plays a small role in the blends of many red bordeaux but in Argentina has found a distinctive expression. In terms of flavour co-ordinates, it’s closer to the lusher, fuller, perfumed cabernet franc of Pomerol or Saint-Émilion than it is to the fine-boned wines of, say, Chinon or St Nicolas de Bourgueil in the Loire. But whilst Argentinian cab franc can be succulent and cushioned, in the right hands – like Zuccardi’s – it can also have texture and delineation, creating a wine that suits both classical and contemporary tastes.
While plantings have been growing, cabernet franc still represents a relatively small portion of Argentina’s red grape vineyard – 1.8 per cent against malbec’s 42.1 per cent – according to the promotional body Wines of Argentina. But it’s telling that Clive Donaldson, head of wine at Asda, notes that last time he was on a buying trip in Argentina, “I was amazed that when you go into a restaurant in Mendoza [the capital city of Argentina’s main wine province] there are as many cabernet francs on the wine list as there are malbecs.” And, yes, there is an Asda Argentinian cabernet franc launching later this year, at the end of summer.
Well I can’t wait until then to start drinking it so here are four more to try – but please don’t ignore the Zuccardi Regiones just because it’s not from the supermarket. It’s a star. I love to drink it with a homemade smash burger, pickled green chillies and a pile of coleslaw – a great accompaniment for any of the wines below, too.
Bottles to try…
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Dining and Cooking