Not much is new in the world today except the Miami Heat are the NBA champions and Germany crushed Greece 4-1 in Euro Cup 2012. Man, Germany got pissed off after Greece scored on them and knotted it up 1-1 early in the second half.
What’s new for me are this bottle of Colonia Las Liebres Bonarda 2011 from Mendoza, Argentina, and the Bonarda varietal. I’ve never heard of it. The wine guy at Mahan’s said, “It’s local to Argentina. It’s like their version of Tempranillo.”
According to The Real Argentine blog, Bonarda is Argentina’s second most planted grape variety and it “may be the same as a Californian grape called Charbono.” Actually, the post “The Mysterious Travels of the Bonarda Grape” gives a good history and details of the grape.
Wine Searcher gives slightly different information. The first sentence of its Bonarda entry description reads, “Bonarda is the name used for four entirely distinct red grape varieties; three from northern Italy, and one from Argentina.” The first Italian verions is “Bonarda Piedmontese.” The second Italian version comes from northern Italy, where it is often referred to as “Croatina,” which “refers to its origins in Croatia.” The third Italian version is referred to as “Uva Rara,” or the “the rare grape.” In Argentina, where the majority of Bonarda grapes are grown, it is mainly used for blending.
That should be enough education. Now, let’s get to some tastification of the Colonia Las Liebres Bonarda 2011.
The wine guy at Mahan’s said this opens tight, so it’s been decanting for about an hour.
The color is a dark purple with a bright purple/pink meniscus.
The nose is sharp and with cranberries and provolone cheese, which makes sense because I was thinking of pizza when I poured the first glass. I also get cherries and dry Argentinian dirt. My companion also gets leather.
It’s very fruity and big and juicy. And with juicy, purple plums. Is there chocolate too?! Wow, I really like how it plays in my mouth. My mouth is doing a little tasty dance of juicy joy.
My companion gets mushroom paste, pesto, and a parmesan cheese.
The finish is slippery and peppery.
This wine is like a playground for the mouth. It’s like a spin-around carousel of big fruits swirling, spinning, and getting dizzy in my mouth. And then it staggers over to the slide, climbs up and up, and then, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee, slides down with its arms raised high.
But then it slams into thee ground. There’s a slight sour after finish, but that’s something some food can easily cure, especially pizza with red sauce. Yum.
For $8, which is what I paid, it’s damned good.
However, the longer it stays open, the drier and less juicy it is on the taste and the more sour on the finish.
I’d say this an 88 wine, and mayeb 89 with food.//
