Mendoza 2019
Argentina is a basket case - we all know that. But Mendoza wine region is a beautiful oasis with world class wines. Let’s think about the leading wine regions in the world: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany, Piedmont, Rhine Valley, Mosel, Ribera del Duero, Douro Valley, Napa, Sonoma, Barossa Valley (and a few others). What do they have in common? Outstanding wines, beautiful scenery and good gastronomy.
Now let us turn to Mendoza. I discovered some world class wines. The scenery in front of the snow capped Andes is breathtaking. Many wineries now have restaurants which offer better menus than what you get outside. In addition, the people are friendly, knowledgeable and keen to help and explain. The weather is very predictable. With respect to the terroir, the soils are interesting, the water is pure from the Andes, the diurnal temperature variation is large. As the saying goes, ‘what’s not to like?’
There have been interesting developments since my last visit in 2014. The rise of the Uco Valley is continuing, for good reason. There is a much improved understanding of the terroir, and soils in particular, with many more single vineyard wines. The two leading winemakers of the region have new projects with small wineries and have fashioned world-class Malbec and Cabernet Franc.
El Enemigo is the side project of Alejandro Vigil, the winemaker of Catena Zapata. Adrianna Zapata, the youngest daughter of Nicolas Zapata, is an equal shareholder. She lives in London, but it was probably a condition to allow this project to go ahead. I had an opportunity to taste the whole range of their wines. And what a world-class tasting it was. Alejandro shows his excitement about these wines; he can now do what he wants, not limited by the ‘corporate’ Catena Zapata. And what he wants is to focus on Cabernet Franc. There is Malbec, of course, but the real excitement is about Cabernet Franc. There is a Chardonnay in the range, and then two lines, El Enemigo and Gran El Enemigo.
The Chardonnay, from 2016, is the first big surprise. This stone fruit based wine has nutty characters as well and is very complex, while maintaining freshness, and this for $25/bottle (95 points).
The El Enemigo range includes a Shiraz/Viognier, a Malbec, a Cabernet Franc and a Bonarda, all from 2014. These wines show individual varieties very well (91-94 points), with the Cabernet Franc the highlight. It tastes of blue fruits, spices and soft tannins; no greenness here, which often characterizes 100% Cabernet Franc.
The Gran El Enemigo range comes from higher altitude vineyards in the Uco Valley, which are planted at a density of 10,000 to 12,000 plants per ha. The blend of five Bordeaux varieties is an easy drinking style. The next four wines are all single vineyard Cabernet Franc (with a bit of Malbec thrown in). The Agrelo is from 930m altitude and quite soft in style.
The last three wines are terrific. The Chacayes is fresh and elegant, with a fine spice mix and intense flavours (94 points). The El Chepillo is my favourite. It hits the palate with a great punch - a racy wine of superb intensity and depth, yet fresh (97 points).
The last wine is the only wine from 2013, the Gualltalary. There is a reason for this. This is the first pure Cabernet Franc to ever receive 100 points from Robert Parker. I think it is the only Mendoza wine to ever receive 100 points from him. This wine is very composed and elegant, with a long finish, but it is not a 100 pointer (96 points). The El Chepillo has more character, and when I later spoke with Alejandro, he said the El Chepillo was his preferred wine.
This was an outstanding tasting, showcasing the incredible talents of Alejandro Vigil. I have never known that 100% Cabernet Franc could taste this good. It can be a complete wine. If you come across these wines, you must try them.
Achaval Ferrer was my favorite winery when I visited Mendoza region in 2014. It had been sold to SPI, the maker of famous Stolychnaya vodka at the time, but the wines I tasted were still made by the original team of Santiago Achaval and Roberto Cipresso. The Malbecs were characterized by intensity and elegance.
This time turned out to be different. It was obvious from entering the winery. There were a number of customers, but staff was very disinterested. The brands and typical very low yields in the vineyards have remained unchanged, but the taste of the wines was certainly different.
The 2014 Quimera is a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The wine had good fruit intensity, but was very alcoholic with a hot finish (85 points). The 2014 Malbec Bellavista was somewhat brutish, with the 100% new oak not well integrated - a concentrated wine with firm tannins and a sweet finish. This wine might appeal to some, but did not to me (90 points). The Mirador was fresher, with significant acidity and some complex flavours of chocolate and tobacco, but again lacking balance (91 points).
The star of the tasting, as five years ago, was the 2014 Altamira. This wine comes from the Uco Valley, from a vineyard at 1300m altitude and volcanic soil. It showed dark fruits, an elegant expression, and a long finish (94 points).
The new winemaker is a young Argentinian. It seems the focus is on power, high alcohol, and new oak, clearly aimed at a certain American palate. Unfortunately, the subtleties in the wines I enjoyed many years ago, have been lost.
Norton is owned by the Austrian Swarovski family of crystals fame. A family member is involved in the mnagement of this very large 24 million bottle winery. I like this winery, because it also produces very small volume high end wines. I was taken through the range by winemaker David Bonomi. 
New modern concrete tanks
The first taste was a real surprise: a 2014 Pinot Noir/Chardonnay Champagne. It showed very fine bubbles.This fresh Champagne was very delicate, with an undertone of smooth yeast (93 points).
The white wines, Gruner Veltliner (of course), Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay were less impressive, but they now make of 35-40% of production.
The 2017 Malbec Reserve, the standard bearer, has the typical black fruit character of the Uco Valley, and the sweetness of Lujan de Cuyo. This medium bodied wine offers great value for money (90 points).
New are the Altura Cabernet Franc and Malbec wines from the Uco Valley. 4000 cases are made of these. I found them very attractive for their freshness, attractive medium body fruit profiles, and balance, in particular the Malbec (92 points).
The 2016 Privada is a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, and then there was a Malbec blend from 5 vineyards - both wines quite well rounded with some sweetness (91 points).
The top wines were the 2017 Lote Negro, a 60/40 Malbec Cabernet Franc blend, matured in concrete vats and old wood. It showed fruit intensity, but was gentle and smooth (94 points). And the 2015 Gernot Langes (named after a Swarovski family member). This again is a Malbec dominated blend (94 points). These are traditional best of barrel wines, but made with drinkability in mind.
I was then given the opporunity to taste the first ever Argentinian Malbec which had Malbec on the label, 1974. What a treat this was! The wine had matured perfectly. The colour was orange on the rim. It translated into some orange peel on the palate, next to the black cherry fruit. The wine was very elegant with a beauiful texture , still balanced and a silky finish (96 points).
This put to rest any discussion if Malbec can age.
The other major new ‘small’ development next to El Enemigo is the new winery by Santiago Achaval, supported by Roberto Cipresso; the old Achaval Ferrer team. But while Alejandro Vigil focusses on Cabernet Franc, Matervini’s motto is ‘what comes after Malbec? More Malbec!
However, Santiago is also looking for something new. He wants to explore Malbec in different soils, in particular less alluvial soils. He was fortunate, he had access to three different vineyards from the start, and from the 2016 vintage, I can taste five Malbecs.
The Vina Canota comes from an isolated vineyard 30km north of Mendoza. It is hot there, and the grapes ripen early. The flavours are intense, but the overall mouthfeel is a bit austere (92 points). The two Salta wines come from Cafayate. The body is not so big, the wines are elegant.
A step up is the Finca from the traditional Lujan de Cuyo area. This is a complex wine, a little fat perhaps, but quite layered with a sweet core. This is a ripe Malbec as you would expect it from a top producer (94 points).
The star of the tasting is the Pidras Viejas from a vineyard at 1600 meters elevation. The vineyard sits on volcanic soil and is densely planted. The yields are low. The colour of this wine is inky black, and the fruit flavours are very concentrated; black cherry, blackberry and cassis. At the same time, the texture is silky, and the wine is a pleasure to drink. The future of Malbec? (96 points)
I start the tasting with the mid-range Q wines, which are available in many countries. The 2017 Chardonnay is fresh and has flavours of citrus and stone fruit. Old oak is used; it is a balanced wine (92 points). It actually beats the 2016 Malbec (90 points) and the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, which has some lean and green characters (88 points).
The Poligonos range is there to show the influence of terroir. These are three Malbecs from 2017, which do not see any oak. The San Pablo, from a 1500m vineyard , is from the coolest subregion. It is dark and intensive, but not a huge wine with great energy (93 points). The Altamira is similar but more rounded, from lower altitude (92 points). The Tupungato from Gualtallary (the real hotspot at the moment) ranked between the two, as far as fruit weight is concerned. The wine was a bit sweet on the mid-palate (91 points). So interestingly, altitude was responsible for the different expressions of the wines, much more so than terroir, in my opinion. (Therefore, I will leave out the story on calciumcarbonite, and different rock sizes.)
The 2014 Jose Zuccardi is the most traditional of the wines. It is aged in foudres. It is a very pure and elegant wine, well rounded with complex black fruit flavours and a soft tannin finish (94 points). I preferred it to the Concreto, obviously aged in concrete vats, which is a bit leaner (92 points). Again, both wines are available in many markets.
The stars are the high priced Aluvional wines from Altamira and Gualtallary. They are a selection of grapes from these two vineyards. The 2014 Aluvional Altamira is very smooth and elegant, with added chocolate flavours and great length (95 points). The 2014 Aluvional Gualtallary is very dark, with a steely determination and drive (95 points).
Then there is the 2014 Finca Piedra Infinita, which comprises the fruit from the best barrell(s). You would normally expect this to be the biggest wine in the range, but it is actually a lighter wine, very layered and elegant, but to me it lacked the mouthfeel of the previous two wines (93 points).
Overall, this is an impressive winery with a great range of Malbecs. The terroir story is not yet proven, in my view, but it will be interesting to watch.
Andeluna has fantastic views of the Andes. It is another ambitious winery. It has one large 80ha vineyard in the prime location of Gualtallary. The mid-range is the Altitud range (the vineyard sits at 1300m elevation. The Chardonnay delivers some ripe notes of banana and pineapple. The Malbec shows some fruit complexity, but is a bit harsh in the mouth (both 88 points).
The top range is the Pasionado range. The 2015 Malbec is quite intense and needs more time for the tannins to soften (90 points). The 2016 Cabernet Franc, matured in used oak, has good complexity, with red berries, some eucalypt and bell peppers on the palate (92 points). The top wine is a 2015 Pasionado Blend, 50% Malbec, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is matured in 100% new oak. It is a full bodied wine. The fruit can carry the oak, and the wine is well structured (92 points).
This winery does not quite reach the heights of Zuccardi, but the Pasionado range is well worth while seeking out.
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