Last night I attended the Executive Wine Seminars "Best of South
America" tasting, thanks to the generosity of my friend Oswaldo. 15 of
the highest rated Chilean and Argentinean wines. The wines:

2001 Bordeaux Varietals (mostly CS) from Chile

2001 Viña Almaviva (Maipo)
Lots of tannins and oak. Nose of coffee and cassis. Medium fruit for
what is an obvious fruitbomb attempt. Heh. B-/B

2001 Concho y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon "Don Melchor" (Maipo)
Also oaky, but seemingly better integrated. Not the powerhouse I
remember from a few vintages ago. Slightly lifted nose. B

2001 Casa Lapostelle "Clos Apalta" (Rapel)
This is better. Soft and lush, (nicely) herby nose, riper/finer tannin.
B/B+

2001 Viña Montes "Alpha M" (Colchagua)
Some initial VA blows off. Soft acidity, fruit forward (raspberry and
blackcurrant), a little vanilla. Nice in a forward way. B/B+

2001 Seña (Aconcauga Valley)
Strange nose. Initially I this is Silver Oakish dilly, but that morphs
into a eucalyptus meets petrochemical thing. Very CA (bad Napa). Room
seems to like much better than I. Who cares, I say C+

Bordeaux Varietals from Argentina

2002 Tikal "Jubilo" (Mendoza)
Earthy nose. Deep cassis fruit, some coffee and tobacco. Medium-bodied
and balanced, most Bordeaux-like of the night. Oswaldo calls it
"friendly", room likes less than I do. B+

2001 Catena Zapata "Nicolas Catena Zapata"
Bigger, brawnier. Tannins are somewhat gritty, and I get less pleasure
out of this than room.Still, with a few years in bottle and right food
this could be good. B

And a solo:

2001 Montes Folly Syrah (Rapel)
A little hot on the nose, but this would be a great ringer in a lineup
of top Central Coast Syrahs. Lush modern Syrah, but more in the
California idiom than Australia. Someone says it's no Côte-Rôtie, but
then it's not trying to be. B+

Assorted Argentina Malbecs
2002 Norton Malbec Reserve (Mendoza)
By far the lowest priced wine in the tasting ($17). Very sweet berry
fruit, not a lot of depth, good candidate for a big party I guess. B-

2000 Yacochuya Malbec (Michel Rolland) *(Calchaques Valley)
Nose is hot, lifted, others say "porty". Dense sweet fruit, loads of
oak. Maybe Jancis should try this next to the 2003 Pavie. Not for me.
C+

2002 Catena Zapata "Catena Alta" Malbec (Mendoza)
Others note a "paste glue" nose, which I can't argue with. Good fruit,
but a bit short on the finish. B-

2002 Viña Cobos "Marchiori Vineyard " Malbec (Mendoza)
Tannic, thick, dense- this needs time or a rare steak.No, it needs time
AND a rare steak. Only wine of the flight I'd really like to own. A-/B+

Achaval-Ferrer
(these were all quite individual, but they did a commonality on the
nose- an exotic crushed berries on a path kind of thing, very
attractive)

2003 Achaval Ferrer "Altamira" Malbec (Mendoza)
Plum, smoke , graphite. This would have been WOTF on any previous
flight. A-/B+

2003 Achaval Ferrer "Bella Vista" Malbec (Mendoza)
More tannic and structured, deep blackberry fruit, long finish. A-

2003 Achaval Ferrer "Mirador" Malbec (Mendoza)
But the best of all was the Mirador. Dense kirsch and blackberry liquer
fruit, smoke and cigarbox. Looooooooong finish.A-/A

The Achaval Ferrers were my clear favorites, but I understand they are
rare and pricey ($85ish). The thing I liked about them the most (other
than they were delicious) was that they seemed to be the most
individualistic and distinctive. The first flight in particular all
seemed to be Napa or Bordeaux wannabes. I liked the Vina Montes M and
the Clos Apalta, but these are $70ish wines, and there are St. Juliens,
Pauillacs, and even a few Napas I like better for under $40. Same
applies to the $50 Jubilo. The Montes Syrah was good, but again there's
a lot of good Central Coast Syrahs for $20-40 (presenter said this was
$72)

Very informative evening.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of
consistency.