Argentinian Pinot on the knife edge: Humberto Canale Seleccion De Familia Pinot Noir 2011

I’m still waiting for my Argentinian Pinot Noir moment. Thought this would be it…

Still, what makes this interesting is the context behind it. It comes from the Rio Negro in Patagonia, which lies in the southern tip of Argentina’s winegrowing areas and is plumped as Argentina’s home of Pinot. In turn, Humberto Canale were one of the first to produce Pinot from this part of Argentina.

What’s intriguing is how unripe and awkward this is. For a vineyard where Malbec is also planted (and ripens), it seems incredibly odd that this is so ashen and marginal, cut with black pepper and rhubarb with the only sweetness coming from oak and alcohol, finishing thin and gangly.

The thought then is about what went wrong? It could be just a bad bottle, but it didn’t look faulty. I’m guessing then it’s a viti issue, with yields and canopy management all deserving scrutiny. But whenever a wine from a known producer lobs up looking so off key, I find myself asking that same question – who knowingly puts out a wine that is ordinary? Surely you benchmark you’re wines, or at least keep an eye at what competitors are doing? Even based on my limited Argentinian Pinot experience I know that there are decent wines to be found, and 18 squid is hardly cheap either.

So what’s the deal?

Source: Retail
Tasted: September 2014
Drink: 2014-2016
Score: 15.5/20, 83/100
Would I buy it? No.
Buy online: Wine Searcher