Jardin Altamira - Altos las Hormigas pioneering vineyard in Uco

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.

Exploring Jardin Altamira in Valle de Uco with Altos las Hormigas winemaker Federico Gambetta

Video highlights: Amanda Barnes interviews winemaker Federico Gambetta

Federico, we are in the middle of Jardin Altamira. Can you tell me why you call it the ‘Garden of Altamira’ and the special plantation you’ve done here?

We call it a garden because there are lots of ants, insects, flora and fauna. And when you are here and are in silence, you can hear lots of things that are in the garden of your house. The difference here is that we are in a vineyard.

And it has a very special formation of how everything is planted here… it doesn’t look like you’re in a vineyard block at all. Can you tell me about the concept from Altos Las Hormigas and why you planted this way?

Our concept is to show how Malbec expresses differently in the different terroirs. So we take a soil map and put each block with a different kind of soil, which is irrigated and harvested in a different way and vinified differently. So this way, we can show how Malbec expresses differently in different plots.

For me, this is one of the most interesting vineyards in Argentina, probably the New World, because it’s a natural formation that you picked the plots. But you’ve also separated it into Crus already, what is the difference between the Cru wines and tell us how the soil is different and how that impacts the Malbec?

The Cru is like a Picasso painting. We have wines from Mendoza and now we have the micro-parcels wines from the Crus. We have five of them and the soil has a high amount of calcium carbonate from the rocks and has between 30 to 50 cm of topsoil and then lots of rocks. This combined with the organic certification, sustainable practices and procedures, and the garden, flora, and fauna give us very special wines.

So these Crus, when you have rockier soils, you think they are a more fine and precise expression.

Yes, for sure.

My last question is about biodiversity because 25% of your vineyard is left to the native flora and natural corridors. Why is it important to keep that biodiversity in the vineyard?

Because we think that the vineyard must coexist with the environment. If we reach that balance, we can reflect on the grapes and therefore, the wines.

And you told me something very interesting about the native flowers and how that impact the wines. Can you tell me about the blue flower that you have here and the characteristic that can add to the region?

There is a very interesting blue and purple flower that has a tobacco aroma that gets in the bloom of the grapes and sometimes you can feel it in the wines. It’s a tobacco and chocolate flavor in the wines that is very special. Actually, the native flora found in the vineyards can be felt in the wines.