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THERE’s nothing wrong in being lured by a wine label. Like a pretty face, it may flatter to deceive, but that’s definitely not the case in the list that accompanies the food offering at CAU. The wines are in line with the playful approach that characterises this little sister of Gaucho.
Typically Argentine examples also shone in the company of succulent slices of the rump fillet called Lomito
While Gaucho is the revered flagship for Argentine steak culture in this country, with a wine offering to match that hits the heady heights, CAU is, well, more frolicsome – from its bright cantina look to its food menu encompassing burgers, fish and even a wild rice superfood salad.
And then there’s ‘Amelie’, ‘Animado’, ‘Caubonic’, ‘Piche' and ‘Paint It Black’, commissioned house wines that are a big hit with CAU regulars in Didsbury, Media City and Wilmslow. All boast colourful designs that sing like a soundtrack to a fun time.
You noticed the pun in Caubonic, in line with ’Causlaw’ on a menu meant to embrace the eclectic dining out scene you find in Buenos Aires (trust us, even an off-duty cowboy might prefer to graze on pea and shallot ravioli or miso-glazed sea bream fillet).
Both dishes – and the various spicy empañadas – could accommodate Caubonic Tempranillo CO2 (£27.50), a juicy, rasberryish red, made using carbonic maceration, where whole grapes are fermented in a carbon dioxide filled vessel prior to crushing. Beaujolais is often made this way and, similarly, it’s best served chilled. Very unusual, though, for a Rioja that’s 100 per cent Tempranillo grape. Confused customers are soon converted.
But then CAU likes subverting expectations. Argentina’s generic white, Torrontes has the perfume and the peach; blend it with the citrus acidity of Pinot Grigio and the Animado Torrontes-Gris (£22.50) is better than the sum of the parts.
I tasted two of the Patagonia-sourced Piche range – a crisp, minerally, unoaked Chardonnay and an uncomplicated Malbec bursting with fruit. They each cost £26.50 a bottle as does a Merlot which, along with a £29.50 Pinot Noir, we didn’t sample. A Piche (pictured) is an armadillo, by the way.
Malbec is the grape automatically associated with Argentina and represents 80 per cent of the wine sold by Cau. The eye-opener for me was the sheer, stylistic variety across their nine-strong range. My favourite was the £39.50 top of the range Cahors Paint It Black, a multi-faceted marvel from Malbec’s French stronghold, but typically Argentine examples also shone in the company of succulent slices of the rump fillet called Lomito. Check out the spicy, black fruit elegance of Lorca Graffiti Malbec (£29.50).
I also liked the sweet spice and lingering sour cherryness of Amelie Malbec – the label is adapted from the vineyard doodles of the (Languedoc) winemaker’s daughter. Well, we told you CAU was playful.
By the end of the year all the chain’s wines will be their own exclusives, bar one bubbly. Of the current table wines, all are also available by the 500ml carafe or 175ml glass, apart from Paint It Black.
CAU has three local restaurants:
700 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, M20 2DN. 0161 481 883.
Orange Building, Media City, M50 2HE. 0161 672 6388.
22-24 Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 4AA.
