Reserve Bonarda ? Who knew

We've talked about Bonarda before and I've drained many bottles of the wine recommended in that post since then but the other day I saw something that made my head turn, a Reserve Bonarda .

At first I thought Why in the world would anyone make a Reserve Bonarda ? Bonarda is an everyday grape making everyday wines, the stuff that is consumed daily in homes across Argentina I would imagine. Still this Reserva was only priced at $12.99 so I figured Why not? and grabbed a bottle.

I'm glad I did, the wine was delicious and excellent value, I guess the Reserve part is the oak aging, but regardless the wine is delicious and a lovely complement to grilled meats, burgers, bolognese or even pizza. The colour is deep red, bordering on purple and fruit flavours are all sweet and lush; cherries, blackberries and plums but there is a nice spicy, smoky core to the wine that evens out the fruit nicely. There is a reasonable seam of acidity and a touch of vanilla from the oak, in fact the wine was much bigger and richer than I had expected with a long finish and great mouth feel.

The wine in question is from the relatively new, 14 year old, winery Argento and has good distribution in the lower mainland stores and appears to have come down in price since last fall.  Retailing currently at $12.99 I think the Argento Reserva Bonarda 2010  is a very good buy and would be a nice change from the Shiraz and Malbecs that seem to dominate the Sunday roast table .