One to try – Argentine Torrontes
It is quite common during Ramadan for expats in the UAE to get extra thirsty through the holy month – I don’t know if it’s a mental thing or what but you will notice at about 2 minutes to 7pm every night there will be a line of very thirsty expats waiting outside all the bars.
So last night we joined in the cattle call and headed to one of our favourite Dubai spots the Belgium Beer Cafe at Festival Centre. The night started out very dignified (needless to say by 3am it was a little less dignified!) with a nice glass of Argentine Torrontes overlooking the Dubai Creek. Of course, being famous for their beers the wine list was rather concise to put it nicely though I un-covered this gorgeous little treasure at a very reasonable price, for Dubai anyway, 28 AED per glass.
I haven’t drank a lot of South American whites, so i was a bit skeptical of this bright yellow with streaks of green liquid in my glass. At first the acidity really hit me for one, though I bring this down to its extreme chilled down state. As the Dubai heat attacked it the palate really began to open up. Being a 2006 it isn’t exactly a spring chicken; the citrusy grapefruit notes and floralness stood out but were wonderfully balanced by a touch of honeyed peach mid-palate. The finish was nothing to write home about though I think married with a pot of the famous Belgian mussels this vino would go down splendidly.
Easy-drinking, food friendly (it would make a great partner to Thai dishes too) and definitely not as bad as a lot of internet reviews have said – I may not buy a case but I wouldn’t turn down a glass or two if offered.
Santa Julia, Torrontes, 2006, Mendoza – Argentina