The nose is definitely not the cabernet sauvignon you're used to. It has some wonderful, expected qualities (smoky earthiness, cherries) but also throws in plum, berries and a very distinct brambly-farmyardy-funk** (á la Pinot Noir). Then, after sitting in the glass for a good hour (or a bad hour, depending on how you're doing in Trivial Pursuit) caramel-coffee notes came out.

This red shows the Argentinean's passion for food as well. Rather than being one of those monster cabs that will overpower any food other than a still living and pissed off water buffalo, the Alamos offering has bright acidity and fruit that compliment even non-meat dishes. Depth comes from the earthiness and oak, and while there isn't a lot of structure to help hold it up during long-term aging, the trade off is a great wine for Dinner & Games night with your friends this weekend!

Just make sure that, if you're on a Trivial Pursuit team with me, you can cover questions on History, Geography and Science & Nature. As the stupid American, I'm all over Arts & Entertainment.

Sports & Leisure we can split: football = Marino is mine; football = Maradona is yours.

Cheers,
TSW

* - WoW's party wine denotation is given to a bottle that you can bring to a party, and it'll make you look good -- but you won't be devastated if you end up not getting any.

** - If you ever get a chance to see Brambly-Farmyardy-Funk in concert, do it. Great dance band from Buenos Aires!

Being a "stupid American" (a term of endearment I often hear when traveling abroad or playing Trivial Pursuit with my better-educated, International friends) I have to admit to not knowing a lot of the intricacies of Argentina. In fact, all I and most people I know can say about the country is that its culture is a passionate one, and its economy is in the toilet. Oh, and they speak Spanish, I think.

So it's no surprise that Argentina would be producing some wonderful, unique wines (passion = inspired wines), and pricing them at great values (economy = toilet).

For a refreshing twist on cabernet sauvignon, try this 2000 from Alamos. Not only is it affordable (certainly a refreshing trait for a cab), but it also doesn't taste anything like a California, Chilean or Australian cab.

Its appearance is light. Tipping a half-full glass, this is something you can just about read through (maybe not a newspaper, but you could get through a few sentences in a "big print" book).