Winemaker Notes
Ideal to serve with red meat dishes and pasta with tomato based-sauces.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Saturated and pitch black to look at, and not much different in scent. This is a fully extracted, modern Bonarda that's well made and generous. Full-bodied wine lovers should like the meaty, dark berry and cocoa flavors. Tannic but layered on the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2010 Broquel Bonarda has a clean, pleasant bouquet with scents of mulberry, sloe, mint and Asian spices that is well-defined. It has a soft entry with grainy tannins. There is an attractive juicy fatness to this Bonarda, matched by crisp acidity and a fine stoniness on the saline finish.
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Wine Spectator
A rich version, displaying good cut to the ripe plum paste, cassis and crushed cherry notes that are supported by a creamy frame and floral finish.
Bonarda is a name given to a handful of distinct grape varieties, mainly growing in Italy and in Argentina. In Lombardy’s Oltrepò Pavese and Emilia Romagna’s Colli Piacentini zones, the grape called Bonarda is actually Croatina. In Novara, Bonarda Novarese, often blended with Spanna (Nebbiolo), is actually Uva Rara. DNA profiling shows that most of the Bonarda in Argentina is actually identical to California’s Charbono—and Charbono is actually the Douce Noire grape from Savoie. Somm Secret—Bonarda Piemontese, an aromatic variety, is the only true Bonarda. Before phylloxera, it covered 30% of Piedmontese vineyard acreage.
With vineyards tretching along the eastern side of the Andes Mountains from Patagonia in the south to Salta in the north, Argentina is one of the world’s largest and most dynamic wine producing countries—and most important in South America.
Since the late 20th century vineyard investments, improved winery technology and a commitment to innovation have all contributed to the country’s burgeoning image as a producer of great wines at all price points. The climate here is diverse but generally continental and agreeable, with hot, dry summers and cold snowy winters—a positive, as snow melt from the Andes Mountains is used heavily to irrigate vineyards. Grapes very rarely have any difficulty achieving full ripeness.
Argentina’s famous Mendoza region, responsible for more than 70% of Argentina’s wine production, is further divided into several sub-regions, with Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley most noteworthy. Red wines dominate here, especially Malbec, the country’s star variety, while Chardonnay is the most successful white.
The province of San Juan is best known for blends of Bonarda and Syrah. Torrontés is a specialty of the La Rioja and Salta regions, the latter of which is also responsible for excellent Malbecs grown at very high elevation.