Walking past the barrel cavern, we go via what was described as the 'owners cellar' (pant, pant) to the tasting room. The latter is adorned with commissioned art on the wall and ceramics.
JohnM was in fine form ... and this was today's line-up - underneath the winery emblem, a rhea, which of course we saw early in the morning. A good sign, it turned out. As you can see, no public at this tasting area ... tours only.
First, a 20015 Torrontes from their 'Urban' line (the lowest of their 4 lines), sourced from near Salta, well to the north beyond Mendoza. First time with a torrontes for me ... liked it a lot! A$ 10 bucks, bargain!
Then a 2015 Urban tempranillo, sourced locally. I'm already a fan; A$10 bucks, again a bargain
Next, moving up in their lines, a 2011 B (beta) crux - 40% tempranillo, 40% malbec, 10% merlot and 10% syrah. Grown at 1,100m locally, picked April 2011, fermented 12 days in stainless steel vats, aged 12 month in oak. A$30 and personally I could pass over it;
Last, one of their second top lines 2012 A (alpha) crux , 100% malbec, picked locally at 1,100m fermented 7 days in oak vats, 17 months in oak barrels. A$63 and worth every penny.
Very satisfied, it was then up a short flight of stairs and we were magically arrived at the restaurant, ready for lunch
. A 6 course menu, with the only difficulty choosing a main out of the three choices. And the view was still there ...