Jardin Altamira is the incredible new vineyard of Altos Las Hormigas in Uco Valley in Mendoza. What makes this terroir so unique, we ask winemaker Federico Gambetta.
Learn all about the terroir of this high altitude wine region and the fascinating way in which it was planted and envisioned by the team at Altos Las Hormigas – one of the pioneers of modern Malbec.
Want to deep dive into the wine region of San Pablo? Winemaker at Salentein, Jorge Cabeza, deep dives into San Pablo wine region in the Uco Valley and how the conditions in the area are best for cool-climate grape varieties such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, but can also ripen Malbec.
San Pablo is characterized by getting an average annual rainfall is around 500 and 600 millimeters, with cooler temperatures because of the high altitude, more humidity, and less sunshine. All of this leads to delicate wines with lower alcohol and a certain freshness, and wild forest, character. Find out more in this terroir interview!
In a region where water resources are sparse, it might seem like an unusual choice to plant a host of cover crops, fruit trees and forestry trees in amongst the vines. But that’s just what Cheval des Andes is doing in its vineyards in Mendoza, as part of their radical agroecology manifesto.
Following in the footsteps of Cheval Blanc, their parent estate in Bordeaux who published the manifesto last year, the team at Cheval des Andes are also implementing an innovative agroecology plan to bolster biodiversity, enrich the soils, mitigate climate change and create more complexity while retaining freshness in the wines.
“There are several parts to the plan,” explains Cheval des Andes’ Technical Director Gerald Gabillet. “The first is no more tilling of the soils and planting cover crops, to allow them to create greater networks of micilliim in the soil and richer nutrition. The cover crops will actually give us more efficient retention of water in the soils we think, rather than compete with the vines. And then the planting of trees is also so that they act like a water pump in the soil, but also the trees give us another level of housing for birds and insects, as well as creating some shade for a cooler microclimate.”
Rodrigo Serrano is the lead winemaker and operations manager at Domaine Bousquet. His curiosity about chemistry, as he saw his parents work at a pharmacy growing up, led him to choose his career in enology.
While his main objective is to continue making elegant, organic and high-altitude wines, he also enjoys challenges and innovation, which is why he manages to surprise consumers every year with new varietals, styles of wine, and winemaking techniques.
Many things. I fell in love with wine at my first job, in Terrazas de los Andes, one of the most beautiful wineries in Mendoza. I’ve always been very keen on the winemaking process and on my first few days on the job, I realized that the wine world was where I wanted to be. Also, being able to add my personal touch to each wine is marvelous. As is sharing wine with consumers and seeing how they appreciate and want to learn more about what’s behind each bottle.