It was while standing in the very slow eStore line to collect my wine and food that I made my wine discovery of the night. I was pulled out of the line to answer some questions about wine substitutes. One of the volunteers had an order in her hand for a Terrazas Malbec but could not find it, so she needed a substitute. She showed me the selection of wines they had available and that’s when I noticed the ultra-premium Terrazas de los Andes Single Vineyard Malbec in ample supply on the table. “That one,” I said. “Use that wine as the substitute.”

My Wine Discovery

I started wondering whether the wine sponsors had made a mistake, because it’s a far cry between the basic Terrazas Malbec that was pictured on the eStore website versus this amazing world-class, highly rated wine that I saw in front of me – 91 Points by Wine Enthusiast, 93 Points by Stephen Tanzer’s, 92 by Tim Atkin and 94 Points by James Suckling – some of the leading wine critics on the planet. I collected my catered supper and wines and returned to my table, only to discover to my delight that one of my friends had ordered the Malbec and had in fact received the Terrazas de los Andes Single Vineyard Malbec.

Terrazas de los Andes Single Vineyard Malbec

On seeing my excitement, they wanted to know what was going on. I explained that most of the top wineries in the world make wines at different levels for different price points and for different markets. Of course, a few wanted the details, so as we all began sipping it – indeed even the non-red wine lovers wanted to taste it and ended up actually liking it – I further explained that while the cheaper wines are usually machine- harvested, this wine was hand-harvested and was aged in expensive new French oak barrels for 18 – 20 months. After bottling, it’s aged to perfection for an additional 12 months.

Someone checked the official tasting notes on their smartphones and came up the following: “The Terrazas Single Vineyard Malbec has a vivid red with deep purplish hues. On the nose there is great aromatic concentration, with plum, blackberry and black cherry notes. Subtle anise and licorice notes together with smoked hues define its great complexity. On the palate the wine is succulent, with great persistence and silkiness.”

At least four people got up in unison to purchase a bottle, one even said he was buying a few extra bottles for home, it was that good.

What a delightful evening! So much so that as I moved around the venue meeting, greeting and dancing my Möet Ice Imperial filled Riedel Crystal Champagne glass was bumped from my hand as I stepped on the dance floor in full stride. It came down with a huge crash and Champagne was splashed everywhere. Thankfully, it was not red wine! Apologies if you got splashed!

All’s well that ends well, and Kingston, Jamaica’s inaugural Dîner en Blanc was in a word – Epic!

Christopher Reckord – Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. Send your questions and comments to creckrd@gmail.com. Instagram: @chrisreckord Twitter: @Reckord