Argentine Wine

I feel kind of guilty about letting Chip save me today, so I'll weigh in with some wine info. On Thursday I had a new wine, on Friday I had about 22 new wines, and then thanks to Bwana I had four more new wines over the weekend. I seriously underestimated how often I try new wine! So here is an acutal account of one of the new wines:

Tikal
Patriota Mendoza 2005
With an alluring nose of spice, mocha and cocoa powder, this also delivers a pure, racy palate of red plum and currant fruit, with a long, lingering finish. Bonarda and Malbec. Drink now. 3,800 cases made. (WS, 90)

This wine was huge. We definitely tasted chocolate along with the fruit. Most importantly, Bwana bought it so I wasn't out $25 no matter what it tasted like.

But wait- what is Bonarda? From what I understand, it's one of those French grapes that died out in the homeland but still lives on in Argentina. The Wikipedia entry confuses me, so I'll base my understanding on the info I got from the guy at Great Wines and Spirits.

The only other note I have is that the bottle it came in is the heaviest I have ever held in my hand. I now keep the empty bottle next to my bed instead of a baseball bat, just in case.