A Patagonian white blend is on the bar today: The “45° Rugientes” from Otronia. It was my first pick for “Try January” and it is a unique and delightful wine.
“Try January” is a promo that my local wine bar hangout is doing this month. Instead of attempting to convince us that de-alcoholized wine tastes like anything other than grape water and sadness, the owner is encouraging regulars to try something new. If you–Scout’s Honor–have never tasted a style or a grape variety before, then you get to order a glass or a half-glass at a big discount.
A wine I haven’t tried? Uh-oh. I’m in here tasting all the time (yes, even in January) so I’ll admit that I had to cruise the fridge for a minute to find an eligible bottle. And that is how I wound up with an oddball multi-blend from the Southern tip of Argentina.
The 45° Rugientes white blend is one of those perplexing wines that makes you go “Huh?” and then, seconds later, “Wow!”
Hugely aromatic, with summery yellow flowers and white peaches up first…enough to lull your palate into thinking it’s about to get a nice soft Viognier. Take a sip, and the citric punch wallops you, before mellowing again into pretty flavors of Gala apples and orange blossoms. It’s extra-full in body and bursting with flavor. Yet co-existing with its richness is a green, vegetal spiciness: Fresh ginger, tulip stems, and even white parsnips.
Chardonnay and Pinot Gris are at the heart of this wine, but Gewurztraminer (at 62.5%) is its body and soul. If you don’t like Gewurz (you’re wrong, but okay) the more neutral grapes act as chaperones to temper its perfumed excess. Also: The acidity is wild for Gewurztraminer. This tastes like it was maybe bottled yesterday, but it’s from 2017. What?
Because they make this wine at the bottom of the Earth where the people walk upside down, it should come as no surprise that it’s all topsy-turvy. It’s gold in color, but bright and fresh. Thick as honey, and also bone-dry. Even the subtle mark of oak-barrel aging seems backward. Unusually, I don’t smell it at all, but I taste it. As soon as the crispness of the orchard fruits fades, the oak sneaks in, under-girding the palate with mild baking spices and blanched almond for a long, clinging finish.
I loved this wine for its floral intensity, penetrating acidity, and luscious texture–a timely antidote to the thin and flavorless non-alcoholic Prosecco I had sampled moments earlier.
This first vintage (2017) of 45° Rugientes is a blend of Gewurztraminer (62.5%), Pinot Gris (25%), and Chardonnay (12.5%). Each variety was harvested at its peak, pneumatically pressed without de-stemming, and vinified separately in stainless steel tanks and concrete eggs. After blending, it was aged in neutral French oak barrels for 16 months. (More recent vintages use 2500- and 5000-liter French oak vats instead of the barrels, and they blend in a little Riesling, too.)
Located in the extreme Sarmiento region below the 45th parallel, the Otronio winery may be the southernmost in the world. The brand makes much of the challenges of growing in Patagonia’s cold and dry climate, a place they call the “edge of the impossible.” Tasting this white blend suggests that making great wine there isn’t just a possibility–it’s already happening.
Bottle: Otronia “45° Rugientes” Corte de Blancas (2017) – Patagonia, Argentina
Variety: Gewurztraminer (62.5%), Pinot Gris (25%), and Chardonnay (12.5%)
ABV: 13.7%
Suggested retail: $40
My rating: 9.1 (out of 10)
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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