Yesterday we were part of two Argentine tastings, the first, a
Wines of Argentina event held at the Houses of Parliament by the British-Argentine All-Party Parliamentary Group and the Argentine Embassy, followed by Sky High - a celebration of high altitude wines at altitude, and the highest wine tasting in the country! This was run in conjunction with Time Out Magazine and
Gaucho, offering slightly drizzly views over a darkened city with hearty Malbec and Malbec blends being served to a group of fanatical steak and wine fans, keen for a memorable view.
The wines we showed at both tastings were from Salta, Argentina's highest winemaking region, standing at some substantial altitude above sea level. Our winery on show,
Yachochuya, a satellite winery of The Rolland Collection and Michel Rolland himself, has the second highest vineyards in the whole country, standing at a magnificent 2035m. Up here there is more UV light so grapes ripen with more concentration of flavours through their generally thick (Malbec) skins. The wines produced in this region of the world offer a more restrained, elegant and concentrated style of wine in comparison to neighbouring Mendoza where flavours can often be more robust.
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| Bancroft's Rob and Michel Rolland's Maria ready to welcome the VIPs to taste in Parliament |
After a short hop over to La France on the Eurostar we arrived chez Paillard in the sleepy town of Bouzy, welcomed in by Antoine, 8th generation of this Champagne producing grower, successfully leading the family into the next phase of business. After recently joining twitter, Antoine dubs himself as 'Vigneron 3.0' - overseeing harvest, production, sales and marketing, you can find him here: @Pierre_Paillard 
