It’s official. Making Malbec in amphoras is in fashion. Silvio Alberto, winemaker at Bodegas Bianchi in the Uco Valley, explains why he has been gradually moving towards using amphoras (or amphorae) for his top Malbec wines and red blends, and why he believes they better express the terroir.
In this interview, Amanda Barnes asks him all about the properties of amphora wines and how it changes the expression of the Malbec.
Bodegas Bianchi is now a major player in Los Chacayes after acquiring a 150-hectare vineyard in the GI. This Gran Famiglia Bianchi blend is one of my favourites of theirs and great value. A dark, peppery and succulent blend of Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon, which is approachable in its youth but still has the firmness and weight of Chacayes terroir.
Bodegas Bianchi is one of the most prolific producers in San Rafael and in Los Chacayes, Uco Valley, and has a large and diverse portfolio that ranges from everyday wines to bonafide icons. Some of the most notable ranges and wines to look out for include Don Valentín, Mil Piedras, Famiglia Bianchi, Bianchi Particular, and Enzo Bianchi.
Read more about Bodegas Bianchi.
Los Chacayes is a relatively new wine region in the Uco Valley, in the Tunuyán region. While it isn’t an enormous area, it is quite a diverse region and suitable for a wide range of varieties. Within the red varieties, the Mediterranean grapes (Garnacha, Syrah and Mourvèdre) perform particularly well, as well as Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Malbec is the local star and Los Chacayes Malbec tends to be filled with bright red fruit aromas with good acidity and firm, structured tannins.
Learn more about Los Chacayes
Silvio Alberto is one of Mendoza’s most experienced winemakers and in this Terroir Talk he shares his experiences making wine in two terroirs in Mendoza, in that of San Rafael and also of Los Chacayes in the Uco Valley. As winemaker at Bodegas Bianchi he oversees winemaking and viticulture in both regions and in harvest time is regularly driving over 200 km a day to get between vineyards and wine regions.
In this interview and tasting with Amanda Barnes, they discuss the special characteristic of wines from San Rafael as well as the promising potential of Los Chacayes. Within the interview, they taste through the Bodegas Bianchi Particular Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, and also taste both icon wines of the winery: Enzo Bianchi Gran Malbec and Gran Corte.
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Coming from their San Rafael vineyard, this Malbec certainly is particular to the wine region. With a gentle pink peppercorn aroma, Silvio says this is characteristic of the region. It is also quite characteristically Malbec with soft, supple tannins and a rich plum note running through. An appealing wine which perfectly suits an asado.
Another of the excellent value Particular line which this time shows the unique qualities of San Rafael’s Cabernet Sauvignon, which is altogether much more approachable and supple than Cabernet Sauvignon wines from further north in Mendoza. It lingers with spice notes and that trademark sweet pink peppercorn and has a silky but mouthfilling style.
The original icon wine of Bodegas Bianchi, Enzo Bianchi is a spicy and complex blend that is usually Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec dominant from their vineyard top plots in San Rafael. It often used to contain Petit Verdot, but Silvio has always been a big fan of Cabernet Franc and in the most recent vintages you get some of the floral notes of Cabernet Franc blending in. A complex wine that needs time to decant.
This is the new Enzo Bianchi to join the portfolio, coming from their relatively new vineyard in Los Chacayes. It’s a bold style of Malbec with rather firm tannins and strong presence on the palate which hints at the ageability of Malbec from this emerging sub-region. Bright and fresh black and red fruit on the nose are matched with some floral and graphite notes. This wine also deserves some decanting and will age well for a decade.
Los Chacayes is a relatively new wine region in the Uco Valley and home to some of the most exciting new white and red wines of Argentina. Tucked into the Andes foothills in the Tunuyán region, Los Chacayes pioneered by the Lurton brothers, François and Jacques, famed Bordeaux winemakers who decided to invest in Argentina and plant in this virgin land back in 1996. They were clearly onto something as Los Chacayes is now one of Uco’s most desirable sub-regions, with over 1,800 hectares planted to date.
The GI, which was established in 2017, was formed not on the basis of ‘terroir’, but using the legal boundary. This means that, while it isn’t an enormous area, it is quite a diverse region. There are over 700 metres in difference between the highest- and lowest-altitude sites, which in turn make for climatic differences, with sites ranging from moderately warm to extremely cool-climate (from Winkler III to Winkler I). What is more, there are also diverse alluvial and colluvial soils with granite, sand, clay, boulders, and metamorphic and volcanic rocks. And all this within a 15-kilometre radius!
Its great diversity means that Los Chacayes is suitable for a wide range of varieties. There are some excellent white wines from the region — I’m particularly partial to its Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and white Rhône blends. Los Chacayes also produces a range of red varieties with Mediterranean varieties (Garnacha, Syrah and Mourvèdre) performing particularly well, as well as Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. As is the case right across Argentina, Malbec is the local star and Los Chacayes Malbec tends to be filled with bright red fruit aromas with good acidity and firm, structured tannins.