I never thought I'd say I enjoyed a Torrontes, Argentina's ubiquitous and often bitter and alcoholic white wine, but I ran across a few that were delightful during a trip to Argentina about a year ago. And I found an equally pleasing one in the States when I returned, a 2012 Mairena Torrontes from Mendoza, which like most good Torrontes reminds you of what you wish Muscat would be if it ever grew up and stopped fooling around. We downed our last of nine bottles tonight with a halibut salad and plan to keep our eyes out for the 2013s.
Some versions of Argentine Torrontes turn out to be blended with Chardonnay, which doesn't work for me, but the Mairena is 100 percent Torrontes, farmed at 5,400+ feet above sea level, on 40 year overhead trellises, the real deal. The wine's a steal at something in the neighborhood of fifteen dollars and does just fine with everything from sashimi to pork chops.