Anyone for icon wine? (Mendoza, Argentina – Day Two)

Mendoza gets pretty hot. Wanna know I found this out? The cheapest car I could rent (which isn’t that cheap) has really bad air conditioning. As I drove south from Mendoza city for another day of visits, I was very worried that I would get noticeable sweat stains on my shirt. Similar to Casa Lapostolle in Chile and Newton in Napa Valley, I was familiar with Terrazas de los Andes from my days at Domaine Chandon Australia, as they were part of the group. Having tried the wine and learning a lot about the brand, it was pretty mandatory that I visit to experience it personally. Through a connection back at home I used to work with, I was able to arrange a visit to the winery, which didn’t even come close to disappointing.

Old press at Terrazas

Terrazas de los Andes is a winery that was established by Moet Hennessy (the only non-Chandon winery that wasn’t purchased) in Mendoza in 1999. This was forty years after they opened their first sparkling wine house outside of France, when they established Bodegas Chandon in the same region. Terrazas was established to capitalise on the emerging market for premium quality table wine both domestically and in export markets, and having established distribution in both cases Moet Hennessy were well positioned. The name which translates to Terraces of the Andes relates to the vineyards being planted at various altitudes in the foothills of the Andes. Mendoza itself is a pretty amazing region, as there is very little rain and they are almost a continent away from the coast, so they use ice and snow from the mountains to irrigate. Like most of the wineries in Mendoza, Terrazas focus on single variety wines sourced from the best locations, but they also produce an icon blend in collaboration with Chateau Cheval Blanc, called Cheval des Andes. This is a blend that uses malbec as it’s core, but uses other Bordeaux varieties to complete the style.

One of the winemakers Gonzalo (a native Mendocino) was my host for the visit, and he briefly took me through the winery, appreciating that I had already visited enough wineries that I didn’t need to see more tanks, presses and barrels. In any case, it doesn’t matter as much what happens in the winery as it does in the vineyard, and this is where Terrazas shines. They have two ranges of wines, and two icon wines. There is a varietal tier of wines designed to introduce newer markets to the winery and Argentinean wines, whilst the Reserva range is a more premium varietal expression. Within the reserva range they make two whites (torrontes and chardonnay), and four reds (malbec, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and syrah). Over a tasting and lunch I got to try almost all the Reserva wines, as well as the Afincado Malbec. The even better news was that I got to try the Cheval des Andes, which is one of the iconic wines of Argentina. Each year winemakers from Chateau Cheval Blanc join the local winemaking team in assessing the various parcels and barrel samples, and devise a blend together. The benefit they have is a much wider selection of base wines from different vineyards and altitudes, quite different to the chateau system of selecting from one property. Click here to read notes on all the wines tasted.

In researching which wineries to visit in Argentina I was browsing the Wine Spectator Top 100 for the last five years, and came across a winery called Mendel. Checking out the website I was intrigued to see a boutique winery in a region that produces more wine than Australia and New Zealand combined, and promptly got in contact. Having visited many large wineries in Chile and Argentina recently it was a shock to see a very discreet winery tucked away from the main road, and I was filled with anticipation. The winery is a partnership between an Argentine family with a history in wine, and one of the modern icons of the Argentine winemaking fraternity; Roberto de la Mota. Discovering abandoned malbec vines dating back to 1928, they regenerated the vines to produce old vine-expressions of the variety that would distinguish themselves from the vast majority of wine produced in Mendoza. The aim is to allow the purest expression of terroir and variety, and not to get in the way of that. This philosophy epitomises what I firmly believe in, and am so excited about. The winery itself is older than the vines, and has been modified from its original bulk production house to a super-premium facility. I sat down with the viticulturalist and winemaker Santiago to taste through tank and barrel samples of their red wines (they also produce a semillon). Click here to read my notes.