An interesting lineup of wines, most very affordable and interesting backstories behind most of the wines, but not to point out the obvious, but who forgot to include the Malbec? I mean, wtf, not trying to be Captain Obvious or anything, but if you're doing an overview of South American wines, wouldn't you want a Malbec in there as one of the Argentine selections? Sure, it could be argued that Cab Franc legitimately shines in Mendoza (check out El Enimigo's rendition) and the Corazon del Sol is a fine example, but maybe swap out the Catena Cabernet for one of their appellation or single vineyard Malbecs and really put on a show! Maybe that would have skewed the wine costs for the dinner in a bad direction (Catena's single vineyard Malbecs are $200+ nowadays) but their appellation Lunlunta, Paraje Altamira, or La Consulta are only a couple of bucks more than the basic Cabernet.
I share Jim's confusion regarding the pairing of Albariño with the pork tenderloin and wild boar. I'm all for counterintuitive wine pairings, but this one is maybe a little too weird, even for me (and I've been accused of being too weird myself, so I know what of I speak). Maybe Garzón's Petit Clos Albariño might work with pork if you squint and wriggle around a little, but it would have been a no-brainer to have gone with the winery's Tannat. That's the benchmark Uruguayan grape variety, right? But y'know, people get all weird when they deal with wineries owned by billionaires. In addition to Bodega Garzón, Alejandro Bulgheroni owns Vistalba and Argento in Argentina, Dievole and Brizio in Italy, plus Renwood, Bulgheroni Estate and the extortionately-priced (but 100 point-scoring) Lithology in California. Nice portfolio, and all of these wines got better when they became part of his collection. No complaints there, but I'm just saying that maybe the pairing could have been better than Albariño.
I think the Chilean wines would have been the most interesting flight, particularly the way that Rhône varieties seem to work with lamb. But more to the point, did anyone at the dinner mention the disastrous brush fires that swept through Itata in February? Vines planted 200 years ago went up in smoke and a lot of wineries and residences were burned out.
-Eden (what, don't they make dessert wines in South America? At least a Pisco cocktail or something!)