Mendoza

Pulenta Estate is owned and run by brothers, Hugo and Eduardo Pulenta. Situated in Alto Agrelo in Mendoza, it enjoys excellent climate conditions and panoramic views from up to 980 metres above sea-level. Irrigation comes from melted water running off the Andes and the whole process is de facto organic. The brothers’ philosophy is expressed thus: “Making a great wine is an act of generosity, considering always the one who will taste it. Our mission is to produce limited series of great wines, proudly made in Argentina.”

This wine has a lifted, aromatic nose of sweet black cherry and blackberry fruit. Its attractive perfume leads on to a smooth, silky palate full of ripe, crunchy blueberries. The wine is not heavy at all and has great freshness, making it very moreishly appealing. This would be an excellent match for mid-week fajitas or spaghetti bolognese.

Alpamanta are Argentine pioneers in biodynamic farming and minimal-intervention winemaking. Their wines offer a different view on the Mendoza region. The scenic vineyards are located at just under 1,000 metres above sea-level, where they bask in wonderful fresh air and enjoy the natural irrigation afforded by the melting snow from the mountains.

This has developed impressively in bottle. It’s acquired a creamy, voluptuous mouth-feel without sacrificing the crisp acidity and mineral character that are hallmarks of Alpamanta's wines.
A brilliant accompaniment to asparagus with hollandaise sauce.

The nose of smoky bacon on the 2013 Chento Malbec Vineyard Selection transported me to the Rhône, but it has no Syrah, as it's Malbec with 10% Cabernet Franc. The grapes were sourced from La Consulta in the Uco Valley and the wine matured for 12 months in French oak barrels (40% new), which had a great influence on the wine, mainly in the palate where you get the wood tannins and the sweet spices in the flavors. It needs more time in bottle. For fans of oaky reds. 30,000 bottles.
Luis Gutiérrez - Wine Advocate, 28th Aug 2015

A subtly oaked Chardonnay wine, with tropical fruit ripeness well balanced by citrus freshness.

In 2002 a group of friends bought land in the premium Gualtallaray zone of the Uco Valley. A well-known local winemaker used their fruit for his top terroir wine. His first vintage of the Malbec achieved 94 Parker points, leading the wines to be bottled under the autonomous Ambrosía label. The 2013 is the debut vintage of Ambrosía’s Chardonnay and it is impressive.

Warm lemon and white peach aromas are followed by riper flavours of yellow apple and nectarine, accompanied by toasty notes of lees-ageing. Ripe but refined with good texture and length, this is exclusive to Berry Bros. & Rudd in the UK. Match with roast loin of pork, macaroni cheese, Gruyère cheese.

Another wine from Ambrosia showcasing the potential of Argentina’s Gualtallary district. Like all the finca’s wines, this is grown at a staggering 1250 metres altitude, which accounts for its lifted aromatics and mouth-watering freshness. A dash of Cabernet Franc (5%) contributes extra acidity. As you’d hope of an Argentinian Malbec, it has considerable power too, with a rich, chocolatey texture, enhanced by 18 months in new French oak. Drink now to 2022.
Will Heslop - Wine Buyer

In 2002 a group of friends bought land in the premium Gualtallaray zone of the Uco Valley. A well-known local winemaker used their fruit for his top terroir wine. His first vintage of the Malbec achieved 94 Parker points, leading the wines to be bottled under the autonomous Ambrosía label. The 2013 is the debut vintage of Ambrosía’s Chardonnay and it is impressive.

If this wine’s bouquet of black fruit, cedar and pencil shavings (pointing to Gualtallary’s gravel soils) is classical and relatively restrained, the palate is downright exuberant: a juggernaut of ripe fruit and sculpted, yet velvety tannins, propelled by mouth-watering acidity. The 2013 has all the attributes to improve over the next five years, but is drinking beautifully now, preferably with rare roast or grilled beef.

This is Cuarto Dominio’s top wine, sourced from two particularly well-sited parcels in La Consulta vineyard, which lies at 980 metres’ altitude before a spectacular Andean backdrop. The combination of sun-kissed days and freezing colds nights delivers grapes that are both perfectly ripe and high in acidity. For the lucky drinker, this means bags of flavour, massive yet rounded tannins and, crucially, mouth-watering freshness.

An extraordinarily concentrated and complex wine, this is hard to resist now but with the faculties to improve over the next five or more years. Blackberry, dark chocolate and dried flowers begin a long procession of aromas, which – with time in the glass or decanter – become increasingly savoury in character. Don’t stop swirling until you get smoky bacon! Like many of Mendoza’s best wines, it finishes on a beguiling saline note. Memorable stuff.

100% Cabernet Franc from the precipitous and wonderfully picturesque vineyards (perched at 980 metres above sea-level) of Alto Agrelo in the famous Mendoza region of Argentina. The wine is aged for 12 months in new French barrels after a lengthy maceration.

Beyond and beneath an impressive purple colour and ripe hedgerow aromas, the wine fascinates on the palate, with a distant evocation of the Loire Valley (courtesy of this elegant varietal) but with a New World twist. Very fine tannins hold the structure together with great elegance.
Simon Field MW , Wine Buyer

A New World Grand Cru - Cheval des Andes is a high-end wine project that’s a collaboration between Terrazas de los Andes and Pierre Lurton of Cheval Blanc. The joint venture was proposed by Pierre Lurton in 1999 when he realized the potential for top quality wines that existed in certain sites in Mendoza. 

Lurton was eager in connecting again with the grape of Saint Emilion’s past: Malbec. A grape that was decimated by phylloxera in the 1860s from its position as one of the most important varieties in Saint Emilion and Pomerol.  It has since been reincarnated at Cheval des Andes in an un grafted form in Argentina, producing some of the world’s best Malbecs in recent years. 

Today Pierre Lurton acts as Managing Director of Cheval des Andes alongside Winemaker Nicholas Audebert. Cheval des Andes wines are a blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the high elevation, 77 year old "Las Compuertas" vineyards near Mendoza. Some of the Malbec vines are as old as the vineyard itself and ungrafted.

The 2009 is dark, dense and brooding, a gentle coaxing reveals cassis, damson, black pepper and a touch of tobacco leaf. Big bright fruit on the palate is weaved into subtle and velvety tannins. There is an impressive level of detail here, with the oak perfectly integrated to the polished fruit. 59% Malbec, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot. This is a fine example of the potential that leading Chateau have seen in Mendoza. A perfect match for carne asada.
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager