More slurping a little Brazilian in Brazil...
First, last night at The Belmond Hotel within the Brazil side of the Iguassu Falls park.
It turns out that Merlot is regarded as Brazil’s specialty red wine, which I must confess I hadn’t been previously aware of - and it supports my experience of trying Merlot here.
This one was more refined and a little lighter-bodied than what I had tried previously. An old-style not-PC descriptor may have been ‘feminine’.
Tonight it was back to the Italian trattoria as it seems to be the go-to place in my area (
Vo Bertila Pizza & Pasta).
Foz do Iguacu is tourist central, so it’s hard to find somewhere with a bit of style. They queue up at this place like you would not believe. Clearly they have identified a market. I had to wait about 30 mins even at about 1900h - but a caipirinha, as always, made the time slip by.
This one was a Cab Sauv/Merlot blend (60:40). The cork disintegrated, so the waiter decanted it - to the amazement of the guy on the adjacent table.
An interesting wine that took a while to open up. Astringent and tannic typical of CS on first taste, but that was quickly washed away by the plush feel of the Merlot that filled the mid and back palate. A quite distinctive two-stage feel. Rather nice and a bit different.
Hmmm - one more night in Brazil. I think I’ll go back to my favourite place tomorrow night and rummage further in their wine list
.