Producer: Finca Flichman
Wine: Vino Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2004
Country: Argentina
Appellation: Mendoza
Wine Type: Red
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Grade: A-
Designation: Cheap and Good
Price:$9

Okay. All right. A truck pulls up to the house and starts unloading case after case of this Finca Flichman Reserva Cab from Argentina. You didn’t order the stuff and you have no clue why they are delivering 10 cases of this foreign Cab wine to you. Do you let them keep unloading? Do you tell them to put the wine back in the brown truck and go on their merry way? Well, if this delivery was a practical joke then the last laugh is yours. Take the wine and tip the driver. Finca Flichman is one of those old Mendoza family wineries dating back to the early part of the 20th Century. However, the family sold out to an Argentine corporation in 1983, who subsequently sold Flichman to one of Portugal’s leading wine companies, SOGRAPE. Usually when I think of a red Argentina wine my knee-jerk reaction is Malbec. Hit the left knee, Cabernet Sauvignon for Chile, hit the right, Malbec for Argentina. Ignoring my knees and that little hammer, I picked Finca Flichman’s 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon to give it a go…and it was a nice treat, especially for the price. Normally, I wouldn’t even think of buying a California Cab at less than $10. A South American? Well, I’ll give it a go. Turns out that the Finca Flichman is a regular old Cab but with a bit more fun to it than usual. It’s got that dark garnet color and it’s deeper than the price suggests. It’s meaty in the mouth of plums and black cherries with a dark and raisiny background. This is large-sized wine but not super-sized. The fruit is ripe and augmented by a base of tannins to hold it up. Spice, pepper, leather add layers of interest but overall the wine stays in balance and keeps flexing its substantial muscle without disintegrating. It’s still a bit a tight and could age in a cellar a 3-5 years. And that’s a good thing if you accept the delivery, which is what I’d recommend.

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