These notes accompany our in-depth feature Torrontés, the new Pinot Grigio?
Dry Torrontés
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Viñedos de la Posada, Fairtrade Torrontés 2006
From the Famatina Valley in the North, relatively subdued, musky aromatics but a palate brimming with crisp apple and peachy fruit and vibrant acidity. £4.99, NISA Today, EH Booths.
Norton, Torrontes 2006
Floral, herbal, and quite flamboyant aromatics, with nice leafy fruit. The palate has a nicely sour edge of granny smith apples. It is tangy and lively, with crisp lemony notes. Very nice aperitif wine. £4.99, Oddbins.
Michel Torino, Torrontés Collecion 2006
From Salta, a really honeyed quality with ripe nectarine and pineapple and just a touch of that floral Torrontés perfume. Mouth-filling, limpid, with herb-tinged crunchy apple and citrus fruit. RRP £5.49, Hallgarten.
Urban Eco, Torrontés 2006
From Cafayate in the north, crisp, herbal nose, with a touch of elderflower. Weighty palate, but decisive acidity. £5.99, Great Grog, Tate Smith, Theatre of Wine, Cuckoo Wines, Coe of Ilford, The Winehouse, Butlers Wine.
Conquista, Torrontés 2006
Flamboyant, floral and exotic fruit character. The palate it has ripe melon and star-fruit flavours, some dried apricot and honeyed richness, but good acidity. £5.99, Crush Wines, Wiltshire.
La Riojana, Traidcraft Torrontés 2006
Traidcraft growers receive 25%-35% more money for their grapes. Delightfully aromatic, perfumed nose, with zesty citrus and a touch of nutmeg. Citrussy, with orange and lemon fruit and nimble acidity. £67.70 X 12, Traidcraft.
La Chamiza, Polo Amateur Torrontés 2006
Fine, verdant, herb and spearminty aromatics over some floral notes and citrus fruit. Plenty of fruit, with a punchy, vibrant character, and tad of residual sugar adding softness. £5.95, Jascots, Heritage Wines, Rodney Densem.
Viento Sur, Torrontés 2006
An Argentinean operation run by the giant Freixenet of Spain. Fruit from Cafayate, intense aroma of melon skins, spice and flowers, with a hint of sweetness before citrus acidity. RRP £5.99, Freixenet.
Torino, Michel Cuma Organic Torrontés 2006
Elegant nose of quite delicate lemon fruit, with little notes of jasmine and tangerine. A powerful wine, with a pithy, lemon and grapefruit dryness. Nuances of a riper,more peachy fruit before acidity kicks in. £5.99 Hallgarten.
Bodega Esmeralda, Argento Reserva Torrontés 2006
Pungent and aromatic, with a hint of green bean and nettle, and floral and citrus edges. Honeyed glimpse of something sweet before quite powerful grapefruit and a skinny, grippy finish. £6.02, Bibendum, Hudsons, Magnum, MW Wines.
Michel Torino, Don David Torrontés Reserve 2006
Matured with a touch of oak barrel and has a delicate nectarine and floral fragrance, with hints of exotic Turkish delight and incense. Nicely-weighted wine, with really good, concentrated, intense fruit. £6.99, distributed by Hallgarten. £6.99
Fincas Patagónicas, Zolo Torrontés 2006
Using fruit from the Famatina Valley, this has a refined pear and nettle nose, with glimpses of exotic lychee. On the palate there is orangy tang and acidity, and some skin-contact grip. £6.99, Delibo Fine Wines
Fincas Patagónicas, Tapiz Torrontés 2006
Bright floral and peach aromas and an intense, vibrant palate with plenty of exotic, very ripe fruit and a pithy, almost aggressively dry streak of grapefruit acidity. Striking, but slightly aggressive. £7.99, Hispamerchants.
Crios de Susana Balbo, Torrontés 2006
Haunting nose, with a gentle suggestion of honey and spices, and a soft, peach down fruit quality. On the palate this is beautifully tempered, brimming with bright oranges and lemons fruit. Gorgeous stuff, and for me probably the best Torrontés in this line-up. £6.99, lasbodegas.co.uk
Bodegas Etchart, Torrontés 2007
From the Cafayate Valley, fragrant, jasmine and delicate, blossom-scented wine, with a soft, downy background of peach skins. Lychee and pineapple notes, with verve and finesse. On-trade only.
Torrontés blends
Tesoro de los Andes, Torrontés Chardonnay 2006
From Nieto Senetiner in Mendoza, lightly honeyed with subdued white fruit aromas. On the palate there’s plenty of punchy orange fruit and cool, elegant acidity. £4.49, Noel Young, D Byrne, Chas Hennings.
Santa Rosa, Chenin Torrontés 2006
Some fear Torrontés will always dominate a blend, but this entry-level wine from Familia Zuccardi is successful with herb and apple aromas and real, mouth-watering juiciness. RRP £4.99, Alliance Wine.
Sainsbury’s So Organic Sauvignon Blanc Torrontés 2006
Made for Sainsbury’s by La Riojana, plenty of herbal, nettly character on the nose, and little nuances of spices and exotic fruits. On the palate some exotic nectarine and pineapple richness starts to build. £4.99.
Bodegas Etchart, Torrontés Chardonnay 2007
20% Chardonnay perhaps dulls the fragrance a little, but an attractive white flower edge to limpid, pear and apple fruit. A nice herbal streak runs through this wine, with a bit of mealy richness. On-trade only.
Sweet Torrontés
Familia Zuccardi, Torrontés Tardio 2006
With 128 g/l sugar and only 8.5% ABV, delicate, with lemon zest, stone fruit flavours, and a touch quince jelly. £6.99 for 50cl, Cellar Door, Classic Wine Direct, Executive Wines, Imbibros, The Naked Grape, The Chimney House.
Bodegas Etchart, Torrontés Cosecha Tardia 2006
48 g/l of residual sugar, with a very exotic, alluring nose of lychee, mango and exotic fruit. Almost syrupy richness of sweet mango and ripe melon fruit fills the mouth, but enough acidity to balance. On trade only.
to read our feature: Torrontés, the new Pinot Grigo?