Viña Cobos winery is the acclaimed wine producer belonging to international winemaker Paul Hobbs. Having worked in Argentina since 1988, Paul Hobbs became so convinced of the potential of Argentine Malbec that he started his own winery, Viña Cobos, in the heart of Mendoza’s Luján de Cuyo in 1999. Twenty years on and Viña Cobos is one of the most respected producers of single-vineyard Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay in Argentina. Focused on the Uco Valley and Luján de Cuyo, the Cobos wines are complex, concentrated, polished and increasingly vibrant. Young Head Winemaker Andrés Vignoni is proving to be one of the most accomplished winemakers of the new generation. Cobos is their top-of-line brand, Bramare is an exciting single-vineyard range, and Felino is their worthy entry-level range.

 

About Viña Cobos & Paul Hobbs

The story of Viña Cobos winery really started with the arrival of international winemaker Paul Hobbs in Mendoza in the late 1980s. Born in upstate New York to a farming family, Paul Hobbs started his career in winemaking after studying viticulture and enology at UC Davis in California in the 1970s. He soon rose to fame as a promising young winemaker while working at two eminent wineries in Napa: Opus One and Simi Winery.

 

 

On a trip to South America in 1988, he fell in love with the landscapes and old vines of Mendoza and agreed to consult for the Catena family for several years and was instrumental in building and modernizing their production of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. It was during this time that he recognized the potential of the old vines in Mendoza and decided to invest in his own winery, founding Viña Cobos in 1999 focused on making single-vineyard wines with Malbec.

“My original goal with Cobos was to make a study of Malbec on the upper River Mendoza, as you might do in Bordeaux — with a left bank and right bank example,” Paul Hobbs tells South America Wine Guide about his terroir focus from the beginning. “The original plan was always single-lot Malbec wines. And now our Bramare Vineyard Designate has expanded to include Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc!”

Today Viña Cobos is one of the leading producers of super premium Vineyard Designate wines and internationally acclaimed for the quality of both its red and white wines. Over the past 20 years, the winemaking and agricultural team have sought top terroirs in both Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, which are now used for their growing portfolio.

 

 

About the vineyards

Chañares Estate, Los Árboles

In Tunuyán’s Los Árboles region, the Chañares Estate vineyard is located at an altitude of over 1,180 metres. Just over 17 hectares of vineyard are planted with Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Poor and free-draining stony soils are fed by drip irrigation and vines are spur-trained. The exposure is northern and the land slopes west to east with an inclination of 2.7%

The estate is named after the native forests of Chañar trees, which surround the estate and are typical in the region.

 

Marchiori Estate, Perdriel

This is the original estate that Paul Hobbs fell in love with and is planted with old Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon vines. Today the 45-hectare estate also has Chardonnay, Petit Verdot and Merlot, and is situated adjacent to the winery at an altitude of 995 metres. With the typical soil profile of Perdriel in Luján de Cuyo, the vineyard has deep, free-draining soils which range from loamy-clay to loamy-sand and have layers of pebbles and rounded stones underneath.

 

Zingaretti, Villa Bastías

This 17-hectare vineyard in Villa Bastías in Tupungato is situated at an altitude of 1,150 metres and has some very old Malbec vines (over 80 years old), as well as some old-vine Chardonnay. Silty-sand soils are predominant and the vineyard is planted on a steep, west-east slope. Villa Bastias is known for its very cold nighttime temperatures, giving a wide diurnal temperature range.

The estate is named after the Italian immigrant, Américo Zingaretti, who arrived in Argentina at the beginning of the 20^th century, and brought along his knowledge of vine growing and winemaking from his homeland. He was one of the first settlers in Tupungato – at that time a remote and nearly inaccessible area – and a pioneer in the Uco Valley.

 

Rebon Estate, La Consulta

This 17-hectare vineyard in La Consulta sits at an average altitude of 1,015 metres and is planted entirely with Malbec, which is well suited to the deep, well-drained and rocky soils.

The vineyard is named after the Toso Rebon family, which has owned this estate and worked with Viña Cobos for several years, taking permanent care of the vineyard and studying the soil to select the best plots of land.

 

Touza Vineyard, Las Compuertas

This property in Las Compuertas is in one of the highest-altitude regions in Luján de Cuyo, situated at an average altitude of 1,050 metres. There are just over 3 hectares of vineyards planted with Malbec, which have been managed by the Touza family for three generations. The soils are rocky and sandy and the vineyard has a west-east slope with a 2% incline, and a north-south slope of 1.3%, which encourages rapid drainage.

 

Los Arbolitos, Los Chacayes GI

In the renowned Los Chacayes GI sub-region of Tunuyán in the Uco Valley, this vineyard is at an altitude of 1,100 m.a.s.l. and there are just over 4 hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir planted. The soils are silty-sand with calcium carbonate cementation, and the vines are fed by drip irrigation.

 

About the Viña Cobos wines

The focus of Viña Cobos has always been on premium wines from Mendoza, showing the best varietal expressions of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, and more recently Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir have been added to the portfolio.

The winemaking all happens at the state-of-the-art winery in Luján de Cuyo where a gravity-flow system is in place for careful handling of the grapes throughout the winemaking process.

COBOS

Cobos is the iconic wine of the winery and has three editions: Cobos Malbec Chañares Estate, Cobos Malbec Marchiori Estate, and Cobos Volturno Marchiori Estate. The Cobos Malbecs show the maximum expression of Malbec in each different site, ranging from the bright and floral notes of Chañares in the Uco Valley to the rich, bramble notes of the old-vine Malbec in Marchiori, while Volturno is a complex and structured wine made predominantly from old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon from Perdriel.

BRAMARE VINEYARD DESIGNATE

Bramare Vineyard Designate is a limited edition range of single-lot wines (Malbec, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc) from their different estates in the Uco Valley and Luján de Cuyo. This line gives you an unparalleled opportunity to taste the differences between some of the top terroirs of Mendoza, as each wine uses the same winemaking procedures but expresses the site in very different ways.

BRAMARE APPELLATION

Bramare Appellation is a monovarietal line with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon from either the Uco Valley or Luján de Cuyo.

COCODRILO RED BLEND

Cocodrilo Red Blend is a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Merlot from selected vineyards in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, optimising the fruity and spicy character of the varieties.

FELINO

Felino is the entry-level line for Viña Cobos winery, with fresh, lively wines made from Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

 

About the winemaker, Andrés Vignoni

Born in the wine region of Rivadavia in Eastern Mendoza, Andrés started his career in winemaking at an early age and became Head Winemaker of Viña Cobos at the age of 29 in 2017.

He already has several vintages at Viña Cobos under his belt, having worked at the winery since 2015, and has also participated in many international vintages including New Zealand and Tuscany. Andrés Vignoni is also Head Winemaker for Paul Hobbs’ estates in Galicia in Spain (Alvaredos – Hobbs) and Cahors in France (Crocus).

 

Visiting Viña Cobos winery in Mendoza

Viña Cobos is open for exclusive and tailor-made tastings, during which the hospitality team will guide you through a customised tasting of their different lines and iconic wines.

You can book your tasting by emailing [email protected] to explore options. Advance booking is recommended as Viña Cobos is a sought-after winery to visit to Luján de Cuyo.

See also: Nieto Senetiner (part-owner of Viña Cobos)

 

Video interview with Andrés Vignoni at Viña Cobos

 

Related articles to Viña Cobos

• The potential of Argentine Chardonnay with Andrés Vignoni
• Paul Hobbs launches new Chañares vineyard range
• Vivino Awards and top South American wines