Bodega del Fin del Mundo

I found a cheap bottle of red wine the other day from an Argentinian property with a strange name that I somehow just had to try. So I bought a bottle of 2006 Bodega del Fin del Mundo Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, which came to Portland all the way from the arid plains of Patagonia. I find I don't often try wines from South America, so here's a chance to find something new and different.

I didn't look too closely at the back label until getting home. Get this:

The mysticism and romance expressed in the wines of Bodega del Fin del Mundo (From the end of the earth) come from the vast landscapes of Patagonia our wines pay honor to this land of immense beauty where the final touches of creation can still be traced.

The sand and rocky soils. Intense sunlight. Dry breeze warm days and cool nights. Plus the use of drip irrigation yield grapes of uniform ripeness and excellent color.

This wine is the perfect expression of its orgins. Bright in color. With full fruity aromas. Fresh and rounded in the mouth. With persistent length.

WOW! The obvious translation issues aside, can we get an editor? Grammar is universal I think. But who knew the selling powers of ... DRIP IRRIGATION. I must say, I've never seen boasts about drip irrigation on a wine label. Makes me want to drink straight from the little black hoses down each vineyard row.

Ok, seriously, the wine's ok for what it is. Manufactured and adjusted for inoffensiveness, with a glossy texture akin to highly conditioned sandwich bread. I wouldn't call it "bright in color" and the "full fruity aromas" have a 'vegetal, we cropped this high but still pushed for high sugars so its rich but still not quite right' edge. In the mouth that glossy, candy texture has just the right amount of tannin, a sweet / tart edge of acidulation (I'm guessing on that), and a sense of harsh intensity like poorly mixed fruit juice from concentrate.

So I'm not a huge fan of the wine, but it's certainly good in the cheap wine for a party idiom. For more information on this producer, check their highly interactive website or Jamie Goode's write up from a couple years back on his terrific Wine Anorak site.