BUENOS AIRES y MENDOZA, ARGENTINA

A line impregnated by potholes, canvas tabernacles at end with masked administers of q-tip insertion. An alien outpost. Battle of the Damned. Off-roading into what I believe will be my hard-stop. I am one week removed from Covid & M, according to our testing, has remained undiseased. My medically-savvy contingent believed there was little chance I'd pass the PCR with a recent diagnosis. So here we are, paying $150 for a test that will presumably say, "Sorry, No." It's a somewhat prepossessing emotion to have little faith, to be resigned to, prior to a conclusive result - like if you expect little & you get that or more back, you're ahead. Yet...we have both passed our PCR's. At 1.5 days pre-departure, we are cleared. Argentina aqui vamos - soy un subito excursionist. 

:For 2 years M sold massive quantities of Domaine Bousquet & Gaia, and in doing so, had earned trips to Argentina, which were then postponed by Covid. In 2022 everything opened up enough that the trip moved forward. He requested of the winery that I be able to accompany him & they approved. 

Buenos Ares - Mendoza, 1/26-2/1

Wednesday, January 26 - At SeaTac I had a chilled, to-the-rim-filled martini with a side of olives, reading Residence on Earth by Neruda, which garnished the sense of impending freedom. The flight was tolerable, unremarkable. Once landed at Buenos Aires we awaited the arrival of other agents of the grape (they having traveled from elsewhere in the US), and once accounted for, were ushered along by a self-declared "Lady Di," and Marianela. Along the way M had acquired me an iced coffee, which was, instead, a chocolate milkshake with whipped cream, chocolate sauce & accompanying cookie topper. 

We were driven to the Marriott Buenos Aires (formerly operating as the Hotel PanAmericano Buenos Aires), situated near the emblematic Obelisk, the Colon Theater, the Palace of Justice and the famous "9 de Julio" avenue, all the while given an overview of the history of Buenos Aires by Lady Di. I was especially charmed by María Eva "Evita" Duarte de Perón, who I had been grievously ignorant of prior to this moment. A brief interim - 

Evita, former 1st Lady, actor, politician, activist & philanthropist served as 1st from June 1946 until her death (of cervical cancer at age 33), in July 1952. Her husband, Juan Perón, President of Argentina (1946-1955), was said to have "become black" after her death. "...to her supporters she was a saintlike defender of the poor; to her detractors, an irresponsible spender out for personal glory." Her body was embalmed and lay at the Confederación General del Trabajo until 1955, when a military coup forced Juan Perón from power; her body was missing, moved & bartered until brought back to Argentina in 1974, after a multi-country journey involving Spain & Italy. She is now embalmed and rests at Recoleta. 

The Buenos Aires Marriott was quite palatial: eclectic porteño design, grand entrance with substantial art, marble, fitness center on the rooftop terrace; 360 deg. panoramic view of Recoleta, Puerto Madero and San Telmo. Awaiting us in the room was a chilled bottle of DB Sparkling Brut.

At 1:00 pm our driver picked us up for lunch at the Hipódromo de San Isidro, a horse track owned by the Argentine Jockey Club. We were led to the back and sat at a long table perpendicular to a long view fo the track. On the tables - bottles of Domaine Bousquet Chardonnay ('20), DB Malbec ('20) & DB Malbec Reserve ('20). Marianela walked us through the menu, our Spanish not stable; table adorned in bottles of ECO de los Andes con burbujas, loaves of bread with herb butter, burrata salad (hojas de rucula, fetas de jamon, crudo, tomates asados, queso burrata, pan focaccia y reduccion de aceto balsamico), hamburguesa grillada a las brasas con nuestra salsa barbacoa, queso cheddar y bacon y pappas; consummated with espresso. After lunch we did a cash conversion deal out of our van like suspicious solicitors before heading back to the hotel for a siesta. Elliptical'd. Dressed for dinner. M & I had Quilmes at the hotel bar as the group gathered & then we were driven through San Nicolás as the sky pinkened the buildings, along Puerto Madero's waterfront, landing at the lips of the Hotel Faena for dinner & a show at the Rojo Tango. 

"In the heart of spicy Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires, you'll find Faena - a colorful, exciting, and eclectic luxury hotel...As soon as you walk into the long hallway with a red rug and black horsehair bench, you know you've entered Faena's fantastical world."

A doorman, glass doors, entering, long, red-carpeted hallway, the Library Lounge, crystal candelabras, unicorn heads, another door opened, the intimate Rojo Tango and everything awash in red. We sat at small circular tables set along the stage. Served burrata with tomato confit, an arugula, walnuts, blue cheese & king prawns salad, clods of tomato & avocado with coriander rosti, to start. The main - grilled steak eye, spicy potatoes & fresh herb chimichurri, pink salmon with tomato criolla & grilled spiced rice - all of this over several bottles of DB Reds. For dessert - condensed milk flan with dulce de leche & cream, cheesecake with fruit & berry sauce & creamed chocolate. The show commenced after the meal. 

Songs Performed

Lluvia de estrellas - Osmar Maderna (1948)

Tango Americano
Por una cabeza - Carlos Gardel & Alfredo Le Pera (1935)
Vida mía - Osvaldo Fresedo & Emilio Fresedo (1933)
Quejas de bandoneón - Juan de Dios Filiberto (1920)
Mala junta - Julio De Caro & Pedro Laurenz (1927)
Martirio - Enrique Santos Discépolo (1940)
Loca - Manuel Jovés & Antonio Viergol (1922)
Que me van hablar de amor - Héctor Stamponi & Homero Expósito (1946)
El Firulete - Mariano Mores & Rodolfo Taboada (1958)
Taquito militar - Mariano Mores (1952)
Bordoneo y 900 - Osvaldo Ruggiero
Derecho viejo - Eduardo Arolas
Tanguera - Mariano Mores (1955)
Popurrí - Malena (1941)
Qué tango hay que cantar - Rubén Juárez & Cacho Castaña
Escualo - Astor Piazzolla (1979)
Los Pájaros Perdidos - Astor Piazzolla & Mario Trejo (1973)
Años de soledad - Astor Piazzolla
Libertango - Astor Piazzolla versión Grace Jones & Barry Reynolds
Adiós Nonino - Astor Piazzolla (1959)
Cumparsita - Gerardo Matos Rodríguez (1915-1916)
Tanguango - Astor Piazzolla (1950)
Rojo Tango - Pablo Ziegler

Singers
Vanesa Quiroz & Ariel Altieri

Couples 
Carlos Copello & Karina Piazza
Nair Schinca & Ramiro Izurieta
Soledad Rivero & Lucas Paez
Luciana Francheli & Federico Paleo
Mirisol & Facundo Karazey Cebeyra
Marilu Leopardi & Esteban Simón
Carla Dominguez & Julio Selfino

The show was redly anesthetic, a roseate sedative. Titular, as the tango goes. About feelings. Para una cabeza. And after we left the red room & its aromas of red meat and red wine and the red-leathered friction of heel to wood, we headed to the outside poolside bar for ambrosial cocktails (also bathed in red, with strung red bulbs and rosebud floaties), for a Negroni Perfetto; finishing with an Amaro with Scott. Afterwards we would come to find that pimps were transacting elegant misses to curious men. It was an entrancing 24-hours in Buenos Aires. 

Thursday, January 27 - At 8:30 am we had breakfast at the hotel, then collected for a gorged tour of B.A. that would focus primarily on Sam Telmo y La Boca/Puerto Madero y Plaza de Mayo y Recoleta (incluye cementerio). 

Marcelo y José would be our guides; regarding Marcelo M decreed, "He's hot." Marcelo is. Stately, sturdy, suave, with chest hair like a bear rug at a hearthfire. It's sensory to regard a sensual face when they're teaching you something. You want to learn harder. 

We learned feverishly, about:

- The history of Argentina by dint of Pre-Columbian (up to 16th c.), the Colonial (1530-1810), Nation-Building (1810-1880) and briefly, the Modern. With first Euro arrival in 1502; Rio de La Plata (present-day Argentina) "discovered" in 1512, "people of the mountains," or, the Inca Empire "discovered."

- Pedro de Mendoza (1499-1537): founded Buenos Aires on Feb. 2, 1536; although said to be the founder of Rio de la Plata y B.A., he was not an effective leader because he was debilitated by a severe case of syphillis. The small settlement was abandoned in 1541.

- José Francisco de San Martín (1778-1850): Argentine General; regarded as a Nat'l hero of Argentina, Chile & Peru. Of San Martín, Marcelo said, " If he saw what we have become, he'd die again - he'd die twice." 

- July 9, 1816: Independence of Argentina declared

- How strong winds from Antarctica affects the Rio de la Plata (the widest river in the world); tidal prism; salt wedge estuary; how the port is expensive due to its challenges

- How the city is built like a chessboard, every street 100m 

- If you say "Menem," Argentinians need to touch their left breast or left testicle

- The Floralis Generica near UBA: a 105-ft. wide metallic flower which blooms anew each day in a pool of water, revealing 4 long stamens inside. Its 6 x 13-mtr-long petals open, which takes around 20 minutes, at 8 am, and slowly closes at sunset. Designed & paid for by Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano ('02).

- Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA): est. 1821

- Monumento a San Martin y Monumento a La Carta Magna y Las Cuarto Regiones Argentinas y Monumento de los Espanoles in the Rose Garden

- Jardin de Rosas/Rosedal: 18,000+ roses surrounded by Los Lagos de Palermo in the heart of Tres de Febrero park in Palermo. More than a century old. The lake features a Greek-influenced bridge; the park - an amphitheatre, an Andalusian patio, and a poets' garden with 26 busts of famous writers including Storni, Alighieri, Shakespeare y Borges. 

- The shanty town, developed by the government, hosts 60,000+ people

- Jacarandas y the yellow flowered tree - La Tipa - with its belly like a bottle

*A vintage Cadillac convertible drives past & Marcelo moans lustily, evincing that it's a "weird" car to see in Argentina, that perhaps a film is being made. 

- Evita monument near the National Library (Brutalist): a bronze statue reminiscent of 1960's church sculptures ('99). Evita sits on the hillside below the National Library (former presidential residence where Evita died); the residence was demolished after the coup.

- (2) newspapers own the media

-The Monastery of the Recollect Fathers, a faction of the Franciscan Order. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Goya, Rembrandt). Biblioeca Nacional. Plaza Financia. Parque Thays. Plaza Justo José de Urquiza. 

- Puerto Madero y Puente de la Mjuer. The Buque Museo Fragata Sarmiento. Reserva Ecologica Costanera Sur. El Zanjon. Plaza de Mayo. Cabildo. Cathedral of Buenos Aires.

-Teatro Colon: One of the top opera houses in the world. C. 1889. Eclectic architecture. The Golden Hall fashioned after Versailles. A small golden square appears slightly out of place - an ornament deliberately left to show what the walls were like after 100 years of pollution & smoking. 

- Witness to a demonstration for/against military funds (interest high, wants negotiation) outside the prodigious casa rosada (Argentin's Gov. House). 

To Un Altra Volta in Recoleta: declared by Marcelo as the "best helado in the city." The helado-handler was indifferent; the flavors: a range of dulce de leche, bombon, granizado, tentación, con nueces, con almendras chocolate amargo, plus: anana, cereza a la crema, coco, durazno tropical, frambuesa, frutilla, limón, mousse de limón, naranja con frutillas poche, maracuya, melón. I had a vaso chico naranja con frutillas y limón. 

Toured Recoleta, who's popularity began towards the latter part of the 18th century, when an outbreak of yellow fever (1871) in the southern suburbs forced the city's residents to seek refuge elsewhere. The poorer of them headed south, the wealthier chose Recoleta for its higher terrain & thus a lack of disease infecting insects. 

To Cementerio de la Recoleta; a history lesson nested in wrought iron & rubbed raw stone sculptures & cemetery cats & neo-classic & tall-Doric & art deco, nouveau, baroque, neo-gothic & blunt stained glass faces & tiles & toes. Observing the graves of Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Liliana Crociati de Szaszak (who had been killed in an avalanche alongside her husband on their honeymoon; her grave is said to have been modeled on her childhood bedroom, made of wood & glass, sans stone, perhaps in silent protest of the avalanche. In front of her tomb is a statue of her accompanied by her dog Sabu, who allegedly died the same moment as she despite being continents away). Rufine Cambaceres (who was buried in 1910 at 19 y/o, but after burial grave-workers heard her screaming, and after digging her up, found that she had unsuccessfully tried to claw her way out). Domingo Faustino Sarmiento. And, over 4,600 other above-ground vaults of Argentines & others. I like the way "Requiescat in Pace," sounds in the mouth. 

To La Boca: birthplace of the Tango, a one-time shipyard. Caminito. Heady Italian sapor (several early settlers from Genoa). Teatro de la Ribera (colorful tenement homes). Pollution of the Matanza-Riachuelo River or "Little River of Slaughter," with its bleak history & high levels of arsenic (one of the 10 most polluted places globally). Fundación Proa. Casa Amarilla (Almirante Brown, legendary Irish founder of the Argentine Navy). El Obrero. Boca Locura stadium - how you can rent balconies. Small, frequent tables of campari, bowls of oranges, with Italian dancers forcing fotos. If possible, I'd have spent the whole day in La Boca. 

To San Telmo: the oldest neighborhood in B.A.; Plaza Dorrego Market: a bohemian corner with open-air art galleries, street vendors, cobblestones, colonial architecture. To Bar Plaza Dorrego Feria de San Telmo for café con leche y Medialunas (Argentinian sweet croissant) & their signature peanuts. Through Gil Antiguedades, Parque Lezama, Museo Historio Nacional, the Russian Orthodox Church, tunnels of El Zanjon de Granados, and the Convento de Santo Domingo (18th c. Dominican Convent). 

It was thorough & rushed & I took notes with fervor. Much to miss, too much to absorb. I wanted and still want to experience Buenos Aires languidly. During & until, I/will soak anxiously. 

At the end of the day, Marcelo y José dropped us off at La Brigada. We coaxed them in to join us for the meal. La Brigada is a legendary steakhouse which occupies 3 floors on a San Telmo corner. Its owner, Hugo Echevarrieta is a diviner of meats & has variant affections. Succulent beef so tender they dramatically-at-the-same-time-casually cut your meat with a spoon. Salons covered in sports memorabilia. A downstairs cellar supremely stocked. We had the upstairs to ourselves, with a large table covered in white linen, with white & emerald green "Brigada" linen napkins for each, and the most basic of cutlery. There was a meat demonstration. Over ECO con gas, Gaia White Blends & Domaine Bousquet Cab Reserve ('20), we had beef sweetbreads with lemon juice. A grand selection of asado: blood sausage, ribs, rib eye, grilled sweet pepper pureleta (our gums itched after), braided goat intestines, chorizo. We had a "special cut of the house," which they were not allowed to divulge further on in description. To finish - cremé brulee burned with the letters, "LB," and a café negra. This would not be our first, nor nth bout of meat sweats. 

*A fun aside: our group held a Portland vegan, who sometimes-eats-cheeses-if-it-means-it-won't-go-to-waste, and you can imagine the kind of times she had. At La Brigada. I made a note of her commentary - "I'm not into murdered animals."

Somehow we all ate a few hours later, with a dinner reservation at Sipan - a Japanese-Peruvian restaurant in the Palermo Sojo "Hollywood" area. We enjoyed the meal family-style. To start: D.B. Brut (75/25 Chard/Noir), salted maize kernels, trio de ceviches (leches de tigre, cervichito, clasico de pesca blanca, del dia, otro cevichito de salmon rosado en leche de tigre al ajimarillo y porultimo el infaltable nikkei de trucha y langostinos. Then: Umami (relleno de langostinos, queso y verdeo), and Pachamanca (relleno con caramelizada, ahumadas y si pandelphia, cubierto de remolacha y ajiamarillo), and tuna sashimi, and Maricas en foyo (prawns, scallops, octopus) over ('21) rosé y pisco sours. 

As gluttons and/or hedonists and/or bon viveurs, we went to Isabel's after, entering through gilt doors. 70s interior. Sitting in clusters in the white-walled, jasmine-scented courtyard. Savored/devoured Aperol Springs (Aperol, bitter orange, simple syrup, lemon juice), Andillian chardonnay, fernets, Stellas. Drinks are paid for via special tokens...

Friday, January 28 - Elliptical'd & walked the city blocks around the Marriott with M before we were driven past brown water coastline host to B.A.'s domestic airport, Jorge Newbery, for our flight to Mendoza en route to Gaia Lodge (a 3h19m flight). Mendoza City feels wide with leafy streets & art deco & small plazas a'scatter. From Mendoza we were driven to the Uco Valley in Tupungato, 90km SW, at the foothills of the Andes (2h49m), at around 4,000ft, and on the drive we passed an interminable, amaranthine line of semis & container trucks trying to get to Chile. They'd been in wait since Jan. 14, parked on the side of the highway, unable to get along & through due to Covid/the border/Chile's hard shut down (they being of the belief that Argentines were infecting those at the crossing). Well over 10 miles of backup; millions in loss, in various ways, including the rot of produce laying idle. 

Tupungato is named for its volcano - one of the highest mountains in the Americas - a cumbrous Andean lava dome dating to the Pleistocenes. It lays on the border of the Chilean metro region & the Argentine province of Mendoza. It last erupted in 1987. Little Tupungato lies behind.

Upon arriving at Gaia Lodge, a most hospitable woman stood at the large doors, beside a linen dressed table, with a bucket of chilled rosé & handed each of us a stem of it. After a tour of the property, we had campari cocktails & were introduced to the winemaker, Rodrigo (all of 33-years old). 

*A fun aside: our group held a non-wine drinker, and knowing this in advance, the DB team always had beer put aside for her so that she might feel more comfortable; utterly accommodating of the wine heirs & assigns. 

Gaia Lodge is breathtaking. If there were a better word it might consist of an amalgam of: elegant, sleek, modish, thematic, consummately placed. The sun sets and rises on it as if aristocratic. Driving into the compound & vineyards you pass a guard's house, guard with accompanying motorcycle & gate, and travel down a long vineyard-lined rocky road, with rose bushes at each vine's head (insects will attack the roses before the vines), passing the fermentation house, the main restaurant, staff lodging, before an eventual right veer to the lodge. Not yet available to the public, we experienced its innovation unadulterated. Our room was comfortable, spacious, stocked in wine for our sipping in the betweens. Watched the sunset on the vines & Andes. Walked to dinner at Gaia Restaurant. Menus designed by the exec. chef, Adrian Baggio - the meals are seasonal with ingredients pulled from their organic garden & made to pair with each of their wines. We sat outside & enjoyed petite pizzas made from an Argentinian perilla grill: vegan, portabella, blue cheese & capers, zucchini, yellow tomato sauce & calzones paired with Gaia's Red Blend ('19). For dessert: a wrought iron baked & broiled pot of peaches, strawberries & pistachios. The night ended with a café & feeding grease tipped fingers to a stray. 

Saturday, January 29 - Woke to a clearer view of the snow-capped Andes, visible from bed. For breakfast at the lodge: platters of fresh fruit, croissants, toast, acrid bacon, eggs, fresh orange juice, coffee. 

An in-depth tour of the 240 hectares' worth of vineyards followed breakfast, led by Rodrigo y Federico - a grapes reception - must & press, must & débourbage, must in fermentation. 

HISTORY: The Bousquet's hail from Carcassonne in the South of France & boast 4 generations of history in the winemaking tradition. In 1990, the family arrived in Mendoza to investigate the vineyards & wineries. "A 1990 vacation in Argentina was all it took. For third-generation winemaker Jean Bousquet, it was love at first sight. The object of the Frenchman's desire: the Gualtallary Valley, a scenic, remote, arid terrain high in the Tupungato district of the Uco Valley in Argentina's Mendoza region, close to the border with Chile. Here, where the condors fly and not a vine in sight, Bousquet discovered his dream terroir, an ideal location in which to nurture organically-grown vines."

In 1997, a parcel of land was purchased and they relocated from France to the foothills of the Andes. The 110-hectares parcel is located in the Gualtallary Valley in Tupungato, Mendoza, at an altitude of 1200 meters (4,000 ft.), making it one of the higher altitude vineyards in Mendoza, and the world. Cool nights, near constant breeze, idyllic conditions, low amount of rainfall (approx 20cm/year).

"With altitudes ranging up to 5,249 feet, Gualtallary occupies the highest extremes of Mendoza's viticultural limits. Fast-forward to the present and wine cognoscenti recognize it as the source of some of Mendoza's finest wines. Back then, it was virgin territory: tracts of semi-desert, nothing planted, no water above ground, no electricity and a single dirt track by way of access. Locals dismissed the area as too cold for growing grapes. Bousquet, on the other hand, reckoned he'd found the perfect blend between his French homeland and the New World (sunny, with high natural acidity and a potential for relatively fruit-forward wines). 

Bousquet's daughter, economist Anne Bousquet, and her husband Labid Al Ameri, a successful trader with Fidelity in Boston, found themselves increasingly drawn to the cause, including the opportunity it offered to put their shared philosophy on sustainability into effect. After a 2002 trip to Argentina, the couple began to invest in Domaine Bousquet. In 2005, Al Almeri joined his father-in-law full time, helping with the construction of the winery. Anne continued her work as an economist, before joining the company in 2008. In 2009, the couple moved to Tupungato full-time, assuming full ownership of DB in 2011. Nowadays, DB produces 4 million liters a year and export 95% of its volume to more than 50 countries...it currently ranks in the top 20 Argentine wineries in terms of exports and is the leader in organic wine."

We toured the sparkling grapevines (frost is an issue for the white varieties); witness to the workers' rush of handpicking & running buckets from vine to crated truck. At the feet of the vines - wild patches of mustard & bitters. Past dirt roads lined in quince trees. A lesson on soils (two types: sand and stony, no clay), on the netting, on the specific distance between each vined trunk. The Cab Sauv main vineyard, which lines the road to Gaia Lodge: thick-skinned, tannic, tight berries. The Malbec grapes in their finer soil, sans rocks, which preserves the fruit; of wider leaves. 

*Federico pronounces "Merlot" as "Merlote."

To the upscale industrial reception/processing/fermenting facility. They hand-separated the clusters until 2022, but have just acquired an ensorcelled beast of a machine, what Federico called his "second new baby." Observed underground and above concrete tanks, the bamboo ceiling.

After a tour of the machines, we were led through the fermentation vats & offered tastes of wines at various levels of fermentation (a Chardonnay made 3 days previous, pure juice from the tank, '21 Sauv Blanc, '21 Virgen sulfite free Red Blend, '20 Gran Malbec). Through the bottling line (hosts 3,600 btls/hr). Brought down to the cellar - an earthy, dank & eerie yet excitable cellar fueled by an electric buzz. Sweet French oak. Tried: '21 Syrah, used to blend into the Gran Reserve Malbec (adds a good nose to the blend), the '21 Cab Franc (green pepper turns to dill, velvety, chewy). Sat down in a long room encased in glass for a tasting of the full selection, some of which includes: 

- '21 DB Gran Chardonnay: high level, 100% barrel-fermented, Chablis-style, creamy with acidity

- '21 DB Malbec
- '21 DB Cab Sauv
- '21 DB Malbec/Cab Sauv Blend 

- '20 DB Cab Sauv Gran Reserve
- '20 DB Cab Franc

- '20 Gaia Malbec

- '19 Gaia Cab Franc

- '19 Gaia Cab Sauv

- '19 AMERI Syrah

- '19 AMERI Malbec

- '19 AMERI Merlot
- '18 DB Gran Malbec

- '18 AMERI Red Blend: single vineyard; 60% Malbec, 20% Cab Sauv, 10% Merlot, 10% Syrah

- DB Brut Non-Vintage (75/25)

- DB Rosé Brut (75/25)

Displaced Notes 

- Desert-like climate; 300 days of intense sunlight
- Pure Andes snowmelt; used to irrigate - creates lower pH, higher acidity & more color
- Manual harvest, low yields
- Roots of organic grapes grow deeper (more nutrients/minerals)

- 800,000 total cases in 2021
- "The best technology for us is the vineyard"
- "Second fermentation is in the bottle, no?"

As palate starters/cleansers: queso sardo estacionado, morlac, queso de cabra, las catitas y queso gran parmesano, migue y vegan cheeses y cold cuts. Caprese made from the garden, with lavendar, eggplant with tahini, bleu cheese & sugared nut salad, grilled corn, onion, eggplant, mushrooms & microgreens, pork with tomates. Red wine granita. I'm not a sip, swither & spit kind of woman - a child of scarcity - so avoiding waste to the point of sabotage is a pretty severe internal thread of mine. 

Back at Gaia Restaurant for lunch: charred tomatoes, hummus with crispy chickpeas, pumpkin fritters, pork with chutney & white beans, chilled red wine. 

Ran among the vines with a DB staffer; hot, full & uncomfortable. And then, dinner, a repetitive indulgence. At 8:00 pm, as the sun set, we were served bubbles as we awaited asado. Observing the pond, which rippled as if raining. The stray mewled. Ate: focaccia, tomatoes in olive oil, basil & thyme, roasted eggplant & onions in chimichurri, a single piece of sausage presented at each plate in prized manor, blood sausage that looked like plums, rosé y cab franc ('19), grilled zucchini, onions, carrots & potatoes, a serving of baseo, kimchi, grilled butternut squash, ribs, then: lemon ice gelato and fernet & cokes. 

Sunday, January 30 - A breakfast that mirrored Saturday. 

Transferred to Entreandes at 10:00 am. Entreandes es especial: a farm stay near the Cristo Rey del valle de Tupungato, with sun deck, summer terrace, outdoor pool that overlooks lush loping hills & dry brush. The house was finished in 2015, consists of 350 hectares, and was recently visited/enjoyed by Deepak Chopra. Adjacent to it is a renowned horse collection (80 Criollas + 1,000 cattle) - the overall palpation is agrarian wine tourism + specialized breeding & training of the Criollo (a native horse of the Pampas). We were greeted upon arriving by one well dressed Gaucho; he looked effortlessly prestigious. M & Scott golfed a round, or Scott golfed a round & M watched as there are no left handers in Argentina. While they did white-men-on-vacation, the rest of us went for a 2-hr horseback in the arid heat, past bee boxes, willows, cherry trees (when it rains on the cherries, the wet acts as magnifying glass, which expedites the aging & rots the fruit), cacti, alfalfa & walnut trees. Our Gaucho called his caballos "cabauggios." The ride was luxuriant in that it slowed time. Afterwards we soaked our feet in the pool with sparkling rosé, saved a drowning mouse, showed with pride the mouse we had saved to Gaucho & watched in horror as he kicked it with his boot off the ravine. 

*Gaucho is an Inca word; translates to "orphan," or "lonely boy," and indicates a person who works with cattle

At Entreandes, the Gaucho would treat us to another Asado, whose tendrils of meat-smoke wafted to the outdoor table where we'd gathered for empanadas. There were thinly sliced potatoes with rosemary & hummus, charred potatoes with onions, lettuce with orange slices & thick olive oil, ribs, steak, sausage, fresh bread. There was Gaia white sweating at the table & chilled Cab Franc. For the sweet thereafter - raisins, walnuts & cheeses. At this point some were audibly groaning from meat-comas.

Back at Gaia, with a few hours to find a third stomach, we had a last cena at the lodge: black & green olives, endless grilled bread with OO derived from the vineyard, gazpacho (thick, peppered, yellow tomatoes), salami, tostada con avocado, fried onions, tomatoes & edible flowers, bean hummus with tahini & pea tendrils, beet salad with strawberries & pistachios, grilled eggplant with shaved cucumber & nuts, smoking empanadas with ozzobucco, mushroom risotto with pine nuts, grilled steak in cream, grilled corn & beans, corn puree, a selection of cheeses (to end the meal), parfait with lemon ice & cremé brulee. An orgastic feast. With each selection a perfect wine pairing: white blends, Gaia rosé, Cab Sauv Gran Reserve, Ameri, sweet Malbec. 

Monday, January 31 - After breakfast set at a long table facing the vineyards & check out, we drove to KDS in Tupungato - a cuchilleria fina (fun to say). 

"In Tupungato, a town with the name of excellent Mendoza wine...located approx. 70 km southwest of the capital of Mendoza, on a farm on the outskirts of the city, the Karup - Pereyra Da Silva family works, making with quality & love, the excellent handmade knives of the KDS brand. Juan Carlos, the father, and his wife, Carmen, are natives of Puerto Rico, province of Misiones, Argentina..." As the family grew & the property developed, "...the original paternal house...added other constructions; first the inevitable and essential shed, then the workshop with its offices, and the exhibition & sales room; later Alberto's house was added, the quincho with its corresponding swimming pool (delight of the grandchildren of Juan Carlos), an apartment for visits, and finally, Pedro Raúl's house. All this nestled in a mountain range in the Uco Valley, providing a view of the snowy peaks, captained by Tupungato Hill itself."

"With the cordiality that characterizes Juan Carlos, Carmen & Pedro Raúl - they personally received visitors to tell of their story & the step-by-step process of this noble tool."

- Damask made on the basis of Swedish powder metallurgical steel, stainless steel (in twist, lader & other models such as rose, odin's eye, etc) & carbon from Spain, Italy & the US

- The "face" of the knife are made of national timber quayacan, palo santo, urunday, curupay, quebracho colorado, piquillin, guayubira root, itin, or palo rosa

- Imported Ebony & wenge (African), cocobolo (reddish wood of Central American origin), Indian rosewood, palo violeta (Brazil), maple root, ironwood desert (Arizona) & beautiful various roots

-Elephant & walrus ivory, vegetable ivory (?), mouflon, antelope, buffalo cafre, red deer & axis, fossil mammoth from Siberia
- Micarta, semi-precious stones; rhodocrocite, leopard skin & jet

The family has 150 different models, with 80 offered on a regular basis; the other 70 are saved for special customers. They have a knife specifically made for prosciutto. A knife for the handicapped/those missing limbs. In glimpses of the process, knives are left in the oven for 30 minutes, then dipped in a special oil. 25-35 of the same type are made at once. Full process takes about 2 weeks. To sharpen their knives, they utilize stones or ceramics with oil. 

We purchased (3) beautiful knives, two of which had North Argentinian Guayacon wood handles; the final knife was a special gift for my father - a hunter's skinning knife inscribed with "Robert Thor Olsen," with accompanying leather holster. It might be one of my favorite gifts I've ever acquired & will have given - saved for this August 21st. 

We decided against seeing Cristo Rey del Valle, and instead drove to Mendoza City, where we checked into the Park Hyatt. It's a stately 20th century French academy neoclassical façade; white, pillared building with a museum of curated art & paintings of grape clusters & metal busts & a grand piano. Lunch at Lara Nos Dice Donde for a la carte principales: risotto de cordero en sujugo, salsa de tomate y berenjena ahumada con crema de ajo blanco (2400), papas al romero (380), agua con gas y Virgen Red Blend (Cab Sauv & Malbec). 

DB's staff set up our PCR testing in order to fly back to the states; it was simple & luxurious - a nurse was brought to the Park Hyatt, tests administered, and the results would be sent to the front desk, where they'd print off copies for our travel the following day. 

Later that evening we walked to a vermouth bar - La Central Vermuteria. I wish I could have sampled the full menu, but chose the negroni sbagliato (campari, carpano rosso, Espumante extra Brut, rodaja de limon (650)) y the Negroni Rosa (gin Hilbing macerado con cascara de citricos, campari, vermu lunfa rosado, rodoja de pomelo (650)), a Tanti aguri (many wishes) and a G&T with grapefruit, cucumber & pepper. On torrid evenings at La Central Vermuteria, squirt guns are passed around at the outside tables, where squirt-fights proceed. 

Cena at República - our final regalement with the owners & staff of Domaine Bousquet. Marble tables, pink roses lazily bowing in vase, candlelit. Gaia White Blend. An assortment of breads with OO & vinegar. Omerta ('00) of deep yellow. Cavatelli de Ricota, emulsión de caldo y manteca de salvia, avellanas tostadas y queso de cabra (1220). Ceviche de lenguado y ceviche mixto y ensaladas. We sampled DB Alavida kosher wine (cool label). A '21 Malbec (less than 2,000 cases). I learned at some point in the meal that you can burn a pinot noir. 

Tuesday, February 1 - In the morning I ran a heartening route - to and through the Parque General San Martín, the "Green Lung" of the city. Construction began in December of 1896 under the direction of the landscape architect, Carlos Thays, who was influenced by a combo of English & French 19th c. flare. The park has an interesting history; it's construction sparking controversy among governing & opposition politicians in Mendoza. Some considered it elitist & that the money that went towards it would be better directed to sewers, waterworks & irrigation ditches post the 1861 Mendoza earthquake & its subsequent epidemic of diphtheria, cholera & measles.

Passed through the main gates of condor and coated arms, looping through a minimum amount of the 93 hectares (971 acres), 34 sculptures, el rosedal (500+ species of roses y pergolas), promenades, Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, monument to the Army of the Andes (Cerro de la Gloria), amphitheater, site of the Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia, the Cornelio Moyano Museum of Anthropology & Nat'l Sciences (40,000 exhibits), gimnasia y esgrima de Mendoza, the Andino Country Club, the Mendoza Lawn Tennis Club, El Pulgarcito, a hippodrome, a velodrome, a botanical garden, the Mendoza Zoological Park and a large lake (more than 1,000 mtrs long & 100 mtrs wide; the site of numerous nautical competitions) which is the site of the Club Mendoza de Regatas (est. 1909; English architectural). Other things of note: Los Portones, Caballitos de Marly, Fuente de los Continentes, Aboriginal Park, Mundialista Stadium, the Challao, Reserva Divisadero Largo, y Circuit Papagallo.

M & I shared breakfast at Las Terrazas de la Plaza: pulpy juice, coffee con leche, thick grapefruit slices, oranges, melon, plums, toast with marmalade, eggs, roasted potatoes, bacon. After a walk around the promenade were taken to the airport for the trip home.