Gaucho

...? Well, Im another Argentine... and I lived in Manhattan and was a regular at Peter Luger. I find their Porterhouse to be outstanding. Cabana Las Lilas is not a true Argentine experience..... in Argentina, the concept of Steakhouse is just plain foreign... we can eat steak at every coffeshop if we want to. Also, its plain not true lthat at all the "normal" parrillas you cannot get your steak raw.... dont mean to hit on you, but its clearly a case of you not being able to communicate in Spanish. If you want it raw, you must say "casi crudo, apenas vuelta y vuelta". If they do not bring it like you order it, then just send it back. I assure you that when I want my meat to be alive, I order it that way and thats how I get it. Also... my rant with Cabana is not only that its not authentic, but that its also grossly inconsistent. If you go during peak hours you will have to wait, and service will suffer.... steak getting cold while you wait it not unheard of. Their wine list is as thick as a telephone book, yet when you get into detail the vintages they offer are usually not available. Also, price for wine at this place is also highway robbery. To end my post.... I urge those of you that love your meat rare to go to La Brigada in San Telmo... order the Baby Beef and you will be in heaven. Hugo and his team serve it alive and pretty much kicking. Even if you are not into bloody beef I would suggest you visit La Brigada.

As Ive posted elsewhere on the internet.... Cabania Las Lilas is probably the biggest tourist trap in this city... grossly overpriced and also very inconsistent with quality of food and service. Wines are also crazy (pricewise) plus they have less than one third of the wines they say on their telephone book list... and the vintages are never the ones printed..... shameful for a place with the laurels that CLL is supposed to have collected.

Another vote here for Il Matterelo and for SottoVoce. Another place that is also quite good is La Parolaccia. For pizza lovers.... my top vote goes to Morelia, in las canitas.

I discovered a new parilla place in San Isidro, right in front of the Racetrack, on Diego Carman. Its called, Cabaña Oasis Parrilla. The restaurant is right next door to the butcher shop of the same name. I need to find the card of the place to post all the details, it seems that unfortunatetly they dont have a website.

WA issue #168 had a "hidden" rating by Robert Parker of the Cobos Marchiori Vineyard Malbec 2004, rating it at 96 points. As far as I recall, it’s a repeat of the highest rating ever awarded by Parker to a wine from Argentina (the other 96 rating I know of was for this same wine’s 2003 vintage). I say the rating is hidden because it’s in fact embedded inside the Tasting Notes of one of the Californian wines made by Paul Hobbs, the 2005 Paul Hobbs Syrah Kick Ranch Vineyard.

Im not a fan of Cabania Las Lilas. IMHO, its an overpriced and over-rated tourist trap. Prices are still attractive if you do your math in USD's or other G7 nation currencies, but for Buenos Aires standards, the place is highway robbery. On top of that, its hugely inconsistent in terms of food quality and service.... I frankly see very little reason to visit this restaurant.

Guys... please help me out with a question. Does someone know if one of the owners of this place Jorge Rodriguez, the ex-owner of the Chimichurri Grill in Manhattan (Hells Kitchen)? Does his new place have a website? Ive googled it but cant seem to locate it. Thanks. Alex

Any info. on why he was dismissed?

Very interesting evening featuring the complete vertical of the high-altitude Malbec made by Michel Rolland in Salta, at the San Pedro de Yacochuya winery where he has an equity interest. Grapes are planted at 2000+ meters above sea level. This winery is best know for the Yacochuya Rolland wine, although they do produce a second label Malbec and also a Torrontes. Wines were decanted for 5 hours, and served in two flights of three. By the time we got to the second flight, the 2002, 2003 and 2004 vintages had spend another 70 minutes in the decanter. Wines were served extra chilled at 14C and then allowed to warm up in the glasses. Yacochuya M. Rolland - vintage 1999 100% Malbec - Alcohol 14.50% Very dark, almost inky with strong violet shades. 200% Malbec color. Bottle had no sediment. At first, nose was subdued but later came out with notes of spices and licorice. Attack of very ripe plums, still very tannic and coming across as very young (very un 99 like). This wine seemed a lot younger than it’s vintage. Mellowed out a little in the last part of the evening and showed more balance. Very nice, 91 points with room for improvement. Yacochuya M. Rolland - vintage 2000 100% Malbec - Alcohol 16.00% Deep & inky…. But not with the characteristic purple notes. Bottle with heavy sediment. Nose of earth and rocks… almost dusty. As the wine warmed up a bit the nose evolved very gracefully showing black fruits, licorice and some balsamic. Mouthful was big, powerful but very balanced, lots of perfectly ripe plums (not OTT), earthy notes again, cedar, cassis. Very satisfying mid palate and nice medium+ finish. 93-95 points & WOTN. Yacochuya M. Rolland - vintage 2001 100% Malbec - Alcohol 16.00% Deep purple, again textbook Malbec to the eye. Somewhat one-dimensional nose…. Just earth and more earth. Overly tannic, maybe even overly sweet?. Lots of heat. Unbalanced. Underperformer of the night… 84 points. Yacochuya M. Rolland - vintage 2002 100% Malbec - Alcohol 16.10% Strong Violet color, seemed more viscous that the other wines. Earthy nose that then opened up to notes of licorice and raw meat. Still very tannic, oak integration is still in process, finish seems short but I get the feeling this will come around with a good few years in the cellar. Its hard to tell this wine has more than 16% alcohol… no heat here. 89-90 points with strong upside potential. Yacochuya M. Rolland - vintage 2003 100% Malbec - Alcohol 16.20% Super concentrated color, with dark ruby notes and less of the textbook violet. Nose is unbalanced, alcoholic. This wine is clearly no where near ready to drink… bitter finish that I associate with big structured Malbecs that are screaming for more time in the cellar. Not Rated. Yacochuya M. Rolland - vintage 2004 100% Malbec - Alcohol 16.00% Deep & inky violet… nose overly alcoholic. Similar to the 2003, this is still way too young. Now showing itself unbalanced and with an uncharacteristic short & somewhat bitter finish. As the evening progresses, the wine starts to show its potential… there is clearly a balance there waiting to come out. All that is needed is there; this is just an untamed beast. Similar to the 2002, I think this vintage is a keeper. Not Rated but I think this has strong prospects. __________________ Alejandro Audisio (ITB)

RRainey-- Sorry for the belated response to this thread. Im not sure if we have responded to your email contact, Im afraid that if you emailed us to our general inquiry address it may have gotten caught by our anti-spam software. I will PM you and see you I can be of assistance.

The best two high end places to dine in Mendoza are La Bourgogne (at the Vistalba Carlos Pulenta Winery), and Francis Mallmann 1884 (at Escorihuela Gascon). In terms of wineries to visit, I would suggest you look into: Achaval Ferrer Familia Zuccardi Benegas La Rural - Rutini Wines Bodegas Lopez Trapiche Salentein Ruca Malen Please note that many wineries will require advanced reservations if you want to have lunch there.... also, some will require minimum number of guests as they dont have a full-time restaurant operation and may need to cater the event.

Add another vote from a local that doesnt think Cabaña Las Lilas is worth the price. Yes, the beef is good, sometimes even very good, but its way overpriced. They are sleeping on their laurels, and its a damned shame. I think Parrilla 1880 is a great place, so I second the above recommendation.

Hausbrot has a number of locations, usually close to Jumbo supermarkets. The arcade at the Jumbo palermo has one branch, right in front of the vet.

John-- indeed, Achaval makes some excellent wines. You should check out other producers like Cobos, Luca, Tikal, Escorihuela Gascon, Catena Zapata, and Benegas - just to name a few. Cheers from Buenos Aires, Alejandro

Excellent thread. This reminds me of my discussions with many Argentine winemakers, and the "taboo" issue of adding water to wines as a tool to control alcohol levels.

Alex, how does your cited resource rate Gero´s in Rio de Janeiro...?

Wine Searcher data aside.... does someone here have an idea what would be a fair price for a bottle of 2001 Mouton???

Expect Spring weather, similar to what any other large coastal city will offer that time of year.

Chefboy-- There is one part of your post that I do not understand. How do you explain "easily tipping" 10% when the service is horrible? I understand that you are in the trade, but, why should one have to tip if the service has been bad, let alone horrible. Honestly, I dont mean to start a food fight, but, Im trying to understand the logic behind your post. Thanks, Gaucho

I love my Sommeliere Vintage Champagne glasses, although I think that some wines are better served glasses that have larger tulips, similar to some red wine glasses. IMO, one example is a Vintage Krug. Ive tasted wines with the CEO of one of the most prestigious houses of Champagne who refuses to drink from a traditional flute.

It looks like the finally did come though.... (theres an update of the story).

SD-- Im a big fan of Nectarine and go there quite often. I agree its the reference for French fare in Buenos Aires, although its in a different price league as Atelier. I have to say that Ive never had anything but a great experience at Atelier, perhaps Ive just been very fortunate. I do know all the staff and go there often so I guess that helps my overall experience.

Hello SD-- Yes, I mean the one in La Lucila (Martinez). Im surprised to hear you had less than optimal entrees. Would you care to elaborate? Also, if you care to post which options are better I would greatly appreciate it - Im always looking to find new places.

Great thread, very nice reading. The blind tasting issue is always a heated debate... in every city, and in every circle. By circle I mean wine knowledge level. As a wine merchant, I host tastings of all levels, from the novice to the aficionado, and also the heavy hitters (be it the experts not ITB but also the big gun winemakers). In my experience, blind tastings are a humbling experience.... to tasters in every level of expertise. Sure, there are some guys that have a gifted and/or extraordinarily sharp palate that will surprise you beyond your beliefs, but even the guru winemakers do make mistakes from time to time (if one is playing the guessing game). For the consumer, I am a huge believer in the merits of tasting blind. A consumer should normally not have a predetermined agenda, therefore a blind tasting (correctly structured) is the ultimate decision-making tool.

Im wondering if anybody here tried out Ateliere.... curious to hear your opinions on your dining experience.