Malbec

[diegoro]

Perhaps a little off topic, but I wonder if you have experienced the same as I did buying wine at Chinos.
Once I bought a bottle of Luigi Bosca which tasted horrible.
I tried to return the bottle, but they have a non-return policy for wines. The Chino keeps saying "buen vino, bueno vino, no entiendo, no entiendo" . I assumed that that kind of wine aren't sold often, so they may have the bottle for years and not with the right care.

Later I bought a wine of around 70$ (can't remember the label) (knowing what i'd have to expect for the money), but again the same bad result.
And finally there were third try made by my brother in law, who bought a bottle of Ruttni which tasted to me like a regular 40$ pesos wine.
All three in different locations, 2 in Capital, 1 in Canning.

Of course, I'd never buy wine again at Chinos.
The low prices are appealling but also suspicious, particularly at wines. I don't know if I'm little paranoiac here or it was just a case of bad luck.

Anyone to share his/her experience ?

 

[wineguy999]

wineguy: It's out of question that there are experts with years of experience that can judge the subtle nuances of different wines very well and consistently, just like that there are musicians with the perfect pitch. However, it's an area with a huge dunning-kruger effect and most people (even self-proclaimed experts) are very biased by their expectations. Imagine you rank all car drivers by their driving skills and ask them if they are better or worse than the median driver: is it possible that a single driver is better than the median? Yes of course, and the chance is a coinflip. But you'll end up probably with 90% of the driver guessing that they are better than the median, which doesn't add up... And given your experience, I think you'll also have tried 'cheaper' wines with a very good quality while having way more expensive wines where you weren't impressed at all. The price alone is a pretty bad indicator for quality: imagine you have a winery that produces an average wine which somehow gets the first place in a lot of competitions. Demand skyrockets and as a smart business man you double the price per bottle as people are still willing to buy - now a lot of people will still say it's worth every penny, just like a lot of people are convinced their placebo actually worked...

On many points we agree. Especially that the most important thing in evaluating wine is the Quality to Price Ratio. And that an honest judge should always call BS on an expensive wine that isn't up to what it should be.

Side note: I recently did a blind tasting of Argentine wines with a group of wine pros in BA - 85 wines over two days. I compared my notes with those of three others, and seven out of our top ten picks were the same...more than coincidence.

 

[wineguy999]

Perhaps a little off topic, but I wonder if you have experienced the same as I did buying wine at Chinos.
Once I bought a bottle of Luigi Bosca which tasted horrible.
I tried to return the bottle, but they have a non-return policy for wines. The Chino keeps saying "buen vino, bueno vino, no entiendo, no entiendo" . I assumed that that kind of wine aren't sold often, so they may have the bottle for years and not with the right care.

Later I bought a wine of around 70$ (can't remember the label) (knowing what i'd have to expect for the money), but again the same bad result.
And finally there were third try made by my brother in law, who bought a bottle of Ruttni which tasted to me like a regular 40$ pesos wine.
All three in different locations, 2 in Capital, 1 in Canning.

Of course, I'd never buy wine again at Chinos.
The low prices are appealling but also suspicious, particularly at wines. I don't know if I'm little paranoiac here or it was just a case of bad luck.

Anyone to share his/her experience ?

Chino markets are notorious for two things: Cooking their wine in the summer heat (many supers in ARG are guilty of this), and buying wine that has been subjected to mishandling, and is offered at a huge discount.

 

[Ceviche]

wineguy,

Which would be your top recommendation for buying quality wine in Palermo.

I usually buy it at Jumbo, Palermo - which has a very good selection. But I wanna upgrade to the next level.

 

[Ceviche]

uhmm bad choice of guests.... B)

Indeed!!

When I am invited by someone for a houseparty - I make it a point to buy the best and most expensive wine I can lay my hands on. This is the least I can do!

 

[wineguy999]

uhmm bad choice of guests.... B)

Something funny that is worth sharing...my frustration with Argentino friends in Houston when it comes to wine.

For years, they would show up at the house with a stinking bottle of Alamos (or worse!) Malbec. Houston...great wines available from all over the world. Of course I would curse and sputter later, and my wife was meanwhile sharing this with the group. Eventually people became intimidated about brining wine - a few learned and brought better stuff, but still Argentine. It wasn't until one guy in our circle asked for some education, which I was happy to give. He spread the word that my issue was that they refused to think outside this little box called Argentinian Malbec. (Well, and that they're cheap!)

Years later, and they're now known to show up with Spanish, Italian, and occasionally French. A little education can go a long way.

 

[Rich One]

Indeed!!

When I am invited by someone for a houseparty - I make it a point to buy the best and most expensive wine I can lay my hands on. This is the least I can do!

Bravo that's what one must do.....

 

[RodalfoWalsh]

Indeed!!

When I am invited by someone for a houseparty - I make it a point to buy the best and most expensive wine I can lay my hands on. This is the least I can do!

Hey ceviche, got any plans for this weekend?

 

[RodalfoWalsh]

Chino markets are notorious for two things: Cooking their wine in the summer heat (many supers in ARG are guilty of this), and buying wine that has been subjected to mishandling, and is offered at a huge discount.

Aaaand for keeping bottles of Luigi Bosca and Rutini on the top of shelves behind the register for about 4 years or so before realizing that nobody is buying them and putting them on the shelves.

 

[wineguy999]

wineguy,

Which would be your top recommendation for buying quality wine in Palermo.

I usually buy it at Jumbo, Palermo - which has a very good selection. But I wanna upgrade to the next level.

I like Frappé at Arabe Siria and Cerviño, and Pick Market at Ugarteche and Cerviño.