We returned to Buenos Aires for a few days before hoping on a cruise, from Buenos Aires to Rome. I love spending time in Buenos Aires. Even though it was February, and summer time tends to get hot and humid, it was a delight to be back. Our brief stopover gave me some time to visit a few wine bars, some familiar and some new. This time our first wine stop was Che Malbec wine bar (#CheMalbec).
It was great to be back in Buenos Aires, just before Valentines.
I remember spending an earlier Valentines here in 2017 when we visited Pain et Vin wine bar. Founded in 2013 Pain et Vin was one of Buenos Aires first wine bars. Given Pain et Vin was closed until Wednesday our first wine outing took us to Che Malbec.
Welcome to Che Malbec
At Che Malbec we met up with Nicholas, the owner. Since we arrived, just as it opened, before it got busy we enjoyed some special time with him. We decided on a wine and food pairing. During our visit we tasted six different wines.
We began the tasting with two awesome Argentine white wines:
1. Catena Zapata, Saint Felicien Chardonnay Barrel Fermented, Mendoza 2025
2. Colomé, Estate Torrontes, Cafayate 2025
I was excited to progress through this well curated wine tasting. We already aware of the wines produced by these fabulous producers, both during winery visits and throughout the years. Our visit to Colomé in 2010 was one of our first introduction to Argentine high altitude wines. I was impressed back then with the Torrontes that I discovered on Salta's Rita del Vino. Colomé's Torrontes ranks at the top!
Our next four wines were red wines. The first pair of red wines introduced were:
3. Bodega Familia Schroeder, Saurus Estate Pinot Noir, Patagonia 2024
4. Catena Zapata, Nicasia Vineyards Red Blend, Valle de Uco, Mendoza 2024
Bodega Familia Schroeder, Saurus Estate Pinot Noir, Patagonia 2024
Bodega Familia Schroeder's Saurus Estate is located at 39’ Latitude South in San Patricio del Chanar near Neuquen. The vineyards are planted on gravelly soils and combined with warm days and cool nights provide near perfect conditions for grape cultivation. When construction of the winery began a dinosaur was unearthed, and in tribute to this 75million year giant, the name Saurus was given to the wine estate.
Catena Zapata, Nicasia Vineyards Red Blend, Valle de Uco 2024
This Catena Zapata, Nicasia Vineyards Red Blend is a robust red wine with 90% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot.
These two wines brought back memories to earlier visits to Catena Zapata and Bodega Familia Schroeder's Saurus Estate. Moreover, since then we continued to explore their wines.
5. DV Catena Syrah, Mendoza 2023
6. Los Durmientes Cabernet Sauvignon Uno Valley 2025
DV Catena Syrah Mendoza 2023
Los Durmientes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Uno Valley 2025
After the tasting of these awesome wines concluded (another Catena Zapata wine, and a new one for us from Los Durmientes) we said goodbye to Nicholas, and were off to explore Buenos Aires. I look forward to exploring further the wines we tasted at Che Malbec. But, for now this was a great re-introduction to some of our favorite Argentine wineries.
What a perfect way to kick off Valentines Day (El Dia de San Valentin) February 2026 with a return to the Buenos Aires wine bar scene. It was perfect timing to celebrate the wines of Argentina. Two days later we would start our cruise from Buenos Aires to Rome. Join me in the sharing of these adventures in South America and elsewhere at Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon and at Spaswinefood on Bluesky and Facebook.
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