WTN: 2006 Lo Tengo Malbec; 2005 Marietta Old Vine; Coyote Café, Santa Fe.

WTN: Coyote Café, 132 W. Water Street, Sante Fe. http://www.coyotecafe.com/

Janet and I tried one of Mark Miller's restaurants for the first time and had a lovely meal – the corn bread rolls were particularly good. Squash soup and a rustic guacamole for first course, spring medleys of vegetables, and a complex Panna Cotta came to $150 with two glasses of wine, and a picnic box of spring chicken and six of those corn bread rolls to eat on the plane home. (The restaurant itself is absolutely beautiful, with high ceilings and a spare, elegant décor, extraordinary lighting, all in beautiful western colors. Great service. 5*.)

2006 Lo Tengo Malbec Argentina. $11 by the glass. Jancis Robinson perfectly described this wine [hers was the 2002 version]: "Well this youthful, ultra-modern Malbec tastes very juicy and fruity and warm and comforting. Apparently my fellow British Master of Wine and roving wine consultant Angela Muir had a hand in the blend, which includes a little bought-in Tempranillo, so perhaps she injected that little bit of excitement to the wine - or perhaps it's tasting particularly good at the moment because the 2002 vintage was so good and it is still enjoying the bloom of youth. To be honest, I can't really see any connection with the tango other than its country of origin, but I would heartily recommend it as a very worthy - fruitier? - rival to the established branded Argentine Malbec at the same price from Catena, Argento. A bottle of sunshine for winter drinking." The evening was cool in Santa Fe, and the wine was delicious. I suppose it's not very geeky to praise an ultra modern wine, but this was absolutely delicious. 4*+.

2005 Marietta Old Vine Red Zinfandel Geyserville California. $11 by the glass. Bright red color, medium hue, lovely zin aroma and taste with wonderful spice notes, medium mouth feel, long finish, a sense of sweetness, but a perfect match for our dinner of primarily vegetables. An old friend which showed beautifully tonight. 4*.

[Jenise]

Isn't that a great restaurant? I love the casual rooftop bar and the kitchen counter inside where you can watch the food being prepared while you eat.

Have you seen a recipe for the corn bread, Jenise?

Great dining experience.

Bob, I think I have that recipe around here someplace. I'll take a look when I get home tonight.

Glad you enjoyed your time in my town. Hope to meet you and Janet when next you return!

That would be great, Cynthia -- thanks. We certainly will look you up next time -- we were so focused this trip -- Janet had time only to buy two paintings and two rugs in addition to our real reason for coming.

I believe TomHill lives in Los Alamos -- maybe we can have a mini offline.

Regards, Bob

[Jenise]

Bob, hope Cynthia can help. My old copy of the Coyote Cookbook doesn't contain a recipe for something that would a 'roll', as you described. A corn/green chile muffin, yes.

Thanks, Jenise. I'm not sure what they would be called although I would think the corn/green chile muffin recipe would work -- the menu called it corn bread -- in the shape of a six inch long roll, about an inch and a half in diameter, flat bottom and a slightly raised top.

This was just the essence of corn -- something Janet and I both love.

Regards, Bob

FYI: unless Im having a senior moment, the Lo Tengo Malbec is made by Bodegas Norton.

I never actually saw the label, Alejandro, since it was wine by the glass. Robinson indicates that you are correct as to the producer in the first part of her review:

It's not often that I bother to show my children a new wine label. It's even rarer for any of them to laugh spontaneously at one of them. But so it was when I showed both my 18-year-old giant and his 11-year-old sister this new offering from Bodega Norton in Argentina. Its British importers Berkmann Wine Cellars are so fed up with the way so many wines are now sold in the supermarkets merely on the basis of regular 'promotions' (ie, shelf space bought through regular offers at discounted prices) that they have put some real effort into packaging.

lo tengo wine label This bottle carries this atmospheric black-and-white photograph of a couple - knee to toe only - doing the tango on a paved street remarkably reminiscent of the San Telmo market district of Buenos Aires. By harnessing what I'm told is lenticular technology, in three dimensions the picture 'moves' when you do - just like some of the cards that kids collect. So as you sway your head in front of the bottle, or walk past it in the supermarket aisles, it seems as though the couple really are dancing, hence the name lo tengo or, 'I've got it'.

I haven't seen this label in the US yet -- but it sounds very interesting -- perhaps a Peter May candidate.

Thanks for the supplement to my note.

Regards, Bob