By Dereck Foster
For the Herald

Nobody can deny that, on a scale of ten, the figure and voice of Carlos Gardel ranks right up there, near the top. (A nine at least; possibly a ten). In the same manner, the image of certain of our premium wines competes on an equal level. Getting the two together is a by no means impossible act, but I believe that it must be undertaken with a good deal of investigation and care.

Last week, I mentioned how important advertising and promotion loomed in the sales scheme of any serious winery and winery sales manager and director. I gave a certain amount of emphasis to the importance of image — that of the wine, naturally, but also that of the winery which makes it  A winery which projects a serious, reliable image will almost innevitably transfer part of that image to its products. If on the other hand the winery image is weak, unreliable or non-existant, the wines it makes, however good they may be, will definitely struggle against an invisible barrier in the marketplace that may be superior to their abilityto overcome.

These, and other reflections, passed through my mind while I was uncorking a bottle of Mi Buenos Aires Querido, a 2007 Malbec sent to me by Bodega Carlos Gardel.  This new outfit — the 2007 is their first release — states that their aim is to honour our most famous singer and introduce the world to the excellence of our wines. Neither Gardel or our wines need much introduction — which is a different thing entirely to promotion — but the idea behind it is to be applauded. However, has it been carefully thought out? The name Carlos Gardel is an excellent choice in the world of music, and especially our music, but it does not resonate equally down there amongst the vines and in the fermentation tanks. The fact that the wines will figure under the generic name of Gardel Tango does much to help — tango today is a universal ticket as much in a theatre, dance hall or wine cellar — but their individual names which are Mi Buenos Aires querido, Volver (a Cabernet Sauvignon) and El Día que me quieras (Chardonnay) are far less familiar or easy to pronounce and recall, a very important part of any promotion campaign.

So much for an honourable intention possibly wrongly applied. As for the wine itself, I must confess that, having spent the last couple of weeks imbibing and enjoying at home the Ricardo Santos 2007 Malbec, Gardel struck — to my ill tuned ear at least — a note a trifle lacking in warmth and full varietal character. A B flat rather than a C sharp, let us say. Not a bad wine, in any way, but just not up to the standards of our favourite zorzal.

Gardel was not the only wine that reached me last week. A bottle of Pinot Noir 2008 made by Viña Las Perdices was also on my doorstep, and an interesting wine it is indeed. However, I seem to be in a difficult mood these days because my evaluation is, a lovely wine. This is provoked by the fact that not so long ago — a month or maybe six weeks — I had had the opportunity to drink some Pinot Noir from Neuquén, a province whose Pinot Noir I like more and more, the more I drink it. Admittedly, the Las Perdices was a 2008 vintage, still with a hint of shaving cream behind the ears, with a smooth but short finish, and thus a poor opponent for the 2007 Neuquén wines. But vintage ages apart, I think that a wine from Familia Schroeder or Bodega del Fin del Mundo, specially provides a more authentic character than Pinots from further north. But again, we must not forget that wine encloses a great deal of personal preference, especially when one is not a professional, but a rather thirsty amateur.

Finally, we come to a third winery whose desire to appear in print goes as far as providing me with a bottle or so of their product. These people are also new, go by the name of Cavas del 23 and whose genesis can be traced back to 2002. Their first vintage was that of 2006 and the bottle that I received was a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve whose name is Beviam. Indeed, the whole line of wines goes by this name, others being a Malbec Syrah and Tocai. All are varietals. The Reserve line includes, in addition to the Cabernet, a Malbec. All are also 100% varietals and the use of oak seems to be greatly limited (which I feel is a good thing).

The Cab which I sipped was an interesting wine that, in accordance with my rather anti-Cabernet preference,  surprised me with its soft maturity and lack of any sort of gustatory shock, especially on swallowing. As far as Cabernets go —and this could go far — I would feel comfortable including it in my cellar. However, I would like to see what the Malbec is like. Possessing, today, a palate that is in almost total subservience to the Ricardo Santos, I feel that I must get back into the world of Malbec to make certain that I am not missing anything truly remarkable.

Although the winery began to take shape in 2002 — more in the mind than in the soil, with the purchase of the first 37 hectares in San Martin — it really took shape in 2005 when an old winery, built in 1923, situated in Rodeo de la Cruz (Guaymallén) was bought and renovated to make almost artisanal wines of top quality.The basic building was maintained without modifications and is today a historic monument.  Combining old techniques, such as concrete fermentation tanks painted with epoxi, and modern technology, Bodega del 23 manages to obtain the best oif both the old and the new worlds.

This is the type of image that, well handled, could cause these wines to conquer an important segment of the wine loving public. How to do this? I do not have the answer, but I do feel that, however French style the winery might feel its wines to be, to call them Edith Piaf  would be an error. But I don’t think there is any chance for that.