May 2009 Wine Club Selections - 2008 Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes

2008 Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes
Grape variety: Torrontes
Region: Mendoza, Argentina
Food pairing: Egg and chicken empanadas or veggies and bagna cauda

The great thing about selecting the very smallest and most special lots of wine for a premium bottling is that there's a lot of great juice left over when they're done. Knowing that she had lots of great grapes left over after crafting and nurturing her more expensive Susana Balbo wines, Susana Balbo had the idea to create a second bottling under the Crios label. "Each harvest," Balbo explains on her label, "I try to create the grandest possible Susana Balbo wines. To achieve this, I make a rigorous selection of the finest barrels prior to making the final blends, dividing them into the parents (Signature wines) and offspring or Crios. Wines under my Crios label display ripe and vibrant fruit flavors, excellent balance, and are meant to be enjoyed in their vibrant youth.

And like my own crios, this Torrontes is extremely lovable and fun to be around." An inspired idea from a brilliant winemaker/mom extraordinaire. Now be a good kid and share a bottle of this youthful, vibrant key-lime laden wine with the nurturing lady in your life.