December 2024
Lunch at Claroscuro Bodega de Arte was the culinary highlight of my trip to Argentina in December 2024/Jan 2025.
View from my table of the garden tables and the vines
The meal began with a walk to an outdoor oven, where an Argentinian sausage (chorizo) was served on a garlic bread straight from the oven. I’m not really a sausage eater, but the chorizos tasted excellent with the added spices.
On the way to the restaurant we passed a grill on which these tomahawk steaks were sizzling.
Smoked trout, beetroot and other garnishes: wonderful! The ‘Blancas de Uco 2021’ made from Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes served with it was a perfect match!
Rabbit, peas and asparagus, served with a ‘Petit Verdot Rosé 2023’: A dream!
Empanada with mushroom and herb filling, rice crackers, onions, served with a ‘Tintas de Uco 2023’, an assemblage of 35% Malbec, 33% Cabernet Franc and 32% Petit Verdot. Also perfect!
Now a duck breast with mashed sweet potato, accompanied by a ‘Cabernet Franc 2022’. I can’t complain!
After five courses, I was already feeling somewhat full. But now the tomahawk steak is served. It’s only in Argentina that such a large piece of meat is served as the 6th course. The ‘Claroscuro Gran Malbec 2021’ wine comes with it. This wine is a blend of three Malbec vineyards. A top wine!
The staff cut my steak professionally.
Sadly, I could only eat half of the steak.
Afterwards, this cucumber-mint granite (a grainy water ice) was served together with a Malbec Spumante to neutralize the palate.
For dessert I had the ‘Gran Pinot Noir 2022’, which was aged for 10 months in French oak barrels. It is a top Pinot Noir, certainly one of the best Pinot Noirs, if not the best, that I have come across so far.
The dessert consists of a pistachio cream on a sponge cake and coffee sauce. It’s hard to believe, but the Pinot Noir goes very well with it.
Afterwards, I ordered a coffee and received some sweets.
This meal was the culinary highlight of my trip to Argentina!
It cost around 120,000 ARS with the wines in mid-December 2024, which corresponds to around CHF 100/EUR 107/USD 111. It was the most expensive meal for me in this country, but the price/performance ratio was right and compared to the prices in Europe or the USA, I feasted here at a bargain price!