This month’s wine club selection features wines from Argentina. The second largest country in South America, Argentina’s high altitude desert climate produces fantastic wines. It has become an important and up and coming region in the new world. To represent the diversity of wines from Argentina, we chose a sparkling rose made in the Champagne method, an easy-drinking Tannat, and a food-friendly blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.
This sparkling wine is made with 100% Pinot Noir grapes sourced from two high-elevation vineyards. It has toasty notes of brioche on the nose, with hints of wild strawberries and raspberries. It is crisp with touches of sweet red plums and white cherries on the palate, leading to a bright butter-pastry finish. Made in the traditional French method, it is unfined and unfiltered. Pair with mushroom quiche.
The Producer: Alma4
Alma4 began in the mid-1990s with four friends who met at the School of Agriculture and Oenology in Mendoza. Enamored by the “Méthode Champenoise” of making sparkling wines, they produced their first bottles in 1998 at 19 years old. Over the past two decades, Alma4 has achieved maturity and consistency, and today produces five sparkling cuvées from their vineyards in the Uco Valley. Alma means ‘soul’ in Spanish.
The Region: Uco Valley (Mendoza)
Uco Valley is about an hour from the city of Mendoza, and one of Argentina’s most important wine growing regions. It has seen unprecedented investment in the past 20 years; wine tourism is becoming one of the region’s key industries. The spectacular scenery and state-of-the-art winemaking facilities have led some to portray the region as Argentina’s equivalent to California’s Napa Valley.
The Technique: Méthode Champenois/Méthode Traditional
This traditional French method of making sparkling wine involves adding a sugar and yeast mixture to bottled still wine, resulting in a secondary fermentation process and the creation of bubbles (carbon dioxide).
This ruby red wine is made with 100% Tannat grapes grown 1,400 feet above sea level. On the nose are aromas of eucalyptus, figs, violets, and menthol. Intense and complex, it has balanced acidity and a long finish. Pair with beef or cheese empanadas.
The Producer: El Porvenir de Cafayate
El Porvenir was founded by the Romero-Marcuzzi family in 2000. They currently own and farm four different vineyards within the Calchaqui Valley. Their gravity fed winery and cellar is housed within a handmade adobe structure in downtown Cafayate. They embody the paradigm of today’s winemaking in Argentina: the fusion between permanent innovation and great respect for the identity and unmistakable character of the terroir. Under the leadership of Lucía Romero Marcuzzi (third generation in the industry) they are rewriting the legend of Cafayate.
The Region: Cafayate (Salta)
Cafayate is a wine-producing region in the northwest of Argentina, located within the wider Calchaqui Valley – one of the highest places in the world suitable for viticulture. It has an extreme desert climate, with poor soils, warm days and cool nights, very little rainfall, and plentiful sunshine. Grapes grown here become highly concentrated, resulting in smooth and delicious wines with rounded tannins.
The Grape: Tannat
Tannat is a dark-skinned grapes that originates from France, near the border of Spain. It produces wines with rich aromas of dark fruits and spice and is typically dry and full-bodied, with pronounced tannins and moderately high acidity.
A 50-50 blend of early-harvested Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, this is a fruit-forward, medium bodied red wine. It was made with approximately 20% of whole clusters to infuse the tannins into the wine. On the palate are bright black fruits and a subtle layer of chocolate & spice. Fermented in stainless steel, the wine uses natural yeasts with no filtration. Pair with seared bife de lomo (a cut similar to filet mignon).
The Producer: Pielihueso
This estate began in 2017 when Alejandro Bartolome retired as an agricultural engineer and he and his daughter Celina planted vines in Los Chacayes and Los Sauces (both subregions of the Uco Valley). A full family affair, Celina’s brother and sister design the artwork on the labels. The grapes are all farmed organically, and wines made with no corrections, fermented with native yeast and a low addition of sulfur is added just before bottling. The winery’s style is making light, bright, clean, and vibrant wines. Pielihueso translates to ‘skin and bone.’
The Region: Tunuyán (Uco Valley, Mendoza)
Tunuyán is a wine-growing sub-region of the Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina. It shares its name with the town of Tunuyán, which is itself named after the river that flows through it, carrying meltwater from the Andes mountains north and east towards Mendoza City. Tunuyán’s deep, alluvial soils consist of a clay and rock base with a stony, sandy surface – ideal for viticulture. These soils are free draining but also retain moisture, and water for irrigation is provided by the nearby river. Vines grow deep root systems in this soil to access nutrients in the ground; this contributes to the strength of the plants as well as consistency in the vineyard.
