Oh, Fournier

Back in the province of Mendoza we visited the impressive property of Spanish implant O. Fournier, just down the road from Los Vencejos in La Consulta, Uco Valley. The ultra modern facility has 3 levels and is gravity-driven. The grapes are received on the 2nd level and sorted into large tanks that live on the 1st level. The 3rd level has the lab and tasting room, which is equipped with a dentist-style sink around the table for cleaner tastings. The huge cellar doubles as an art gallery, which seems to be a trend down here. There is also, of course, a restaurant. We had our best wine lunch yet at O. Fournier.

First course was some amazing steak tartar, the best I've ever had. The steak was chopped really small with scallions mixed in. This went really well with the Urban Uco Sauvignon Blanc 2009, which had smooth flavors of pineapple and lemon. Next was a delicious corn soup that complemented the Urban Uco Torrontes 2009, which had classic aromas/flavors of orange blossom and musk.

For our main courses Peter got veal ragout with potatoes and truffle oil and I had ginger lemon risotto. The veal was great with O. Fournier's Alpha Crux 2002, a blend of 60%Tempranillo, 35%Malbec and 5%Merlot, which was a heavy, oaky wine with dark fruit, vanilla, and meaty flavors. It got 93 points from Wine Spectator and sells for US$110 a bottle. It was a good wine, no doubt, but heavy.

The risotto was resilient, matching well with the Urban Uco line of wines: the aforementioned Sauvignon Blanc and Torrontes, as well as the Tempranillo 2007, which had really nice red berry fruit. It also went well with the B Crux 2003, a blend of 60%Tempranillo, 20%Malbec, 10%Merlot and 10%Syrah, which was unfiltered and had luscious flavors of red fruit, spice, and dark chocolate. It got 91 points from Wine Spectator and sells for US$55 a bottle. The B Crux was my favorite wine of the tasting.

For dessert, there were 2. First was a melon sorbet that made me wonder why I don't like honeydew more. It was so ripe and refreshing. Second was a somewhat bizarre coffee/chocolate ravioli with ice cream and orange jam. It went great with the Torrontes and the Alpha Crux, but the best part was the translation. In Spanish they called it "Pasta de cafe rellena de chocolate con helado de reduccion de leche y coulis de naranja," which in English was described as "Raviolis of coffee released of chocolate cream and milk reduction ice cream and orange coulis." We are still laughing about this! Released of chocolate...

A delicious, memorable lunch. We enjoyed all the wines and dishes. Felicitaciones, O. Fournier!