Argentina Annual Report: Closing the Gastronomic Gap

In our exploration of more than 2,200 Argentine wines at JamesSuckling.com over the past two months, one thing became clear: the top-scoring bottles from the country are more gastronomic in character than ever. But to get there, the country’s producers have had to overcome the tendency to make reds, especially the fruity malbecs, that have richness, color and fleshy, voluptuous fruit but lack mid-palate tension – wines where the center does not hold, or what Bemberg’s chief winemaker, Daniel Pi, refers to as “donut malbecs.”

But one thing that helped malbecs in the cooler, elegant 2021 vintage was their blending with the fresher and more linear cabernet franc, bringing added tension and energy to the final wine, as it did in standouts from the year like the Trapiche Malbec Cabernet Franc Mendoza Iscay 2021 and Matias Riccitelli Malbec Cabernet Franc Mendoza Riccitelli & Father 2021.

Today, Argentina boasts more than 1,500 hectares of cabernet franc, 80 percent of which are in the Mendoza region. Marcelo Belmonte, the technical director of Trapiche and Grupo Peñaflor, considers the marriage of malbec and cabernet franc to be “a Mendoza classic.” He was one of the 60-plus winemakers James Suckling and I talked to during our visits to dozens of wineries and vineyards in Argentina on our trip there earlier this year. His 2021 Iscay is arguably the most expressive and fragrant example of this, with the cooler, cloudier and slightly rainier year providing ideal context to the production of a drinkable, elegant wine. A more relaxed harvest that year also helped.

Belmonte said harvests can now finish in early April or even earlier, when they used to occur at the end of April or early May. German di Cesare, the head winemaker at Trivento, confirmed the shift, saying that in 2023, a hot year, Trivento completed its harvest by the end of March.

Di Cesare said the earlier harvests resulted in wines with more energy and fluidity, allowing them to take on a more gastronomic character, particularly in Lujan de Cuyo, where late harvests and excessive new oak had previously diminished the wines' vibrancy. The flagship Trivento Malbec Lujan de Cuyo Eolo 2021, sourced from the century-old Eolo vineyard in Vistalba, was fine-tuned in 2021 to introduce a crunchy, gastronomic quality to this typically deep, concentrated and exuberant malbec.

It is this type of fine-tuning that has transformed Mendoza’s malbecs, adding profiles of aromas, flavors and texture that give them a spicy, herbal and nervy lift with mineral tension. The shift represents a departure from the past, when the hallmarks of Argentine malbecs were sweet fruit and ostentatious oak. Now, winemakers are focused on balance and diversity as they seek a unique sense of place in their offerings.

Producers such as Catena Zapata, Terrazas de los Andes, Michelini Brothers and Altos las Hormigas, as well as winemakers like Alejandro Sejanovich, have played a pivotal role in crafting these exceptional malbecs.

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WINEMAKER ALEJANDRO SEJANOVICH ON UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF ALTITUDE-DRIVEN ARGENTINE WINES

For Sejanovich, the key figure at Bodega Mil Suelos alongside Jeff Mausbach, capturing the essence of a place is closely related to the transition toward a more gastronomic style.

“For me, the gastronomic wines are the wines that need to reflect the places, with nuances and details,” Sejanovich explained. “That means wines are not overextracted and are aromatic with balance, amazing acidity and freshness. These elements are highly sought-after by restaurants, especially those that highlight the culinary finesse and subtlety of their cuisines.”

Of course, not all terroirs are created equal and not all are worthy of attention. Fortunately, Sejanovich and Mausbach have access to exceptional, elevated vineyards where they take a more holistic approach in their winemaking to bring out the most from the terroir. Co-fermentation and the inclusion of a high percentage of whole clusters are crucial elements in the process, as Sejanovich believes that a connection exists between where the grapes are grown and their resulting aromatics. When executed correctly, the inclusion of stems and co-fermentation provides a more panoramic view of the terroir, he said.

While the practice of including stems and whole clusters has gained popularity worldwide, particularly for the more elegant grape varieties, results vary from place to place, variety to variety and, of course, vintage to vintage. In warmer years, winemakers must exercise caution, since the potassium content in the stems can increase a wine’s pH level. Generally, though, the lignification of the stems leads to better alcohol levels while adjusting texture and adding another layer of aromatic complexity that enhances the wine’s freshness.

“In the best vineyards, the stems carry the aromatics that belong to that place,” Sejanovich said. “What I like about stems is that I can extract unique aromatics from them that are characteristic of the vineyard, particularly in high-elevation vineyards where they show more dried herbs and spices."

A prime reflection of Sejanovich's approach is his Estancia Uspallata Malbec Mendoza 2022, which hails from the extremely elevated Estancia Uspallata vineyard, at a dizzying 1,900 meters in altitude, and packs a punch with its dried herbs and tangy pepperiness.

His Huichaira Vineyards Jujuy Cielo Arriba 2021 comes from an even more extreme altitude (2,700 meters) and his Salta wines, including the Almacén de la Quebrada Cachí 2021 and Almacén de la Quebrada Pucará 2021 (both from a 2,400-meter-high vineyard) exemplify his commitment to capturing the uniqueness of the terroir.

These inky yet incredibly fresh and spicy malbec-based wines, with their savory herbs, velvety tannins and tension, are more reminiscent of Cote-Rotie wines, and the terroir-transparent reds and strikingly bright and mineral whites Sejanovich makes for Buscado Vivo O Muerto are also among the best we know from Mendoza.

RECALIBRATING STYLE

The trend toward making terroir-sensitive wines is not the only reason Argentine wines are becoming more gastronomic in character, and the discussion of this transition goes hand in hand with evolution of the local culinary scene beyond the usual daily fare of asado, empanadas and pastas.

Wine tourists, for example, can expect a better dining experience at some of the 900-plus wineries in the Mendoza region, where around 10-15 percent, according to the estimates of wineries like Achaval Ferrer, have at least one restaurant open to the public.

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Despite Argentina’s dire economic situation, with austerity policies dampening consumer spending, the government has doubled down on promoting the country’s Michelin-starred restaurants  – four in Mendoza and three in Buenos Aires. Two of the Mendoza restaurants, Zonda and Casa Vigil, are owned and operated by wineries, and 13 out of the 15 recommended restaurants in the 2023 Michelin Guide for Argentina are winery restaurants.

For Sofia Pescarmona, whose Bodega Lagarde houses the Zonda restaurant, making a “gastronomic” wine is not merely a marketing ploy. She said her wines need good acidity, freshness and balance – and sometimes elegance and austerity – to invite drinking, without overpowering the food. But she added that the transition to gastronomic wines takes not only time but also courage, as it goes against the richer, bigger style of wines that were popular in the past and still have many fans in the present.

Juan Roby, Lagarde's head winemaker, acknowledged the challenges they face as they recalibrate their style. “From around 2000 to 2010, for many wineries the purpose was to make wines that work well in markets like the United States, with sweet, concentrated malbecs full of oak,” he said. “Today, many consumers in the U.S., for example, buy our top Gualtallary malbecs for the high scores, but their feedback hasn’t been very positive because they continue to look for the richness and sweetness they are used to.”

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For Jose Alberto Zuccardi, 2000 to 2010 was a rather compromised decade, with wines that were like “photocopies of style.” He believes the biggest enemies to making gastronomic wines today are the same culprits from the past: overripeness, overextraction and over-use of oak.

“The most important thing is the quality of fruit, and there is no room for correction,” he said. In his mind, the transition toward making gastronomic wines began after 2012, when the next generation of Argentine winemakers started to take over many family businesses. Sebastian Zuccardi, Jose Alberto's son, for example, has heralded and speeded up the transformation, today producing wines with minimal oak influence. According to Zuccardi, only semillon and some cabernets are in contact with oak vessels.

But in the relationship between culinary prowess and high-caliber wine, wine still rules. “When we designed the food menu, the aim was that the dishes should be compatible with the wines we produce,” said Laura Catena of Catena Zapata, which houses the restaurant Angelica Cocina Maestra. Her wines at almost every tier – from chardonnays and criollas to Bordeaux blends and malbecs – exemplify the drinkable, gastronomic allure that can be found in the country.

One of their most idiosyncratic wines is the Catena Zapata Chardonnay Mendoza Adrianna Vineyard White Bones 2022, the only 100-pointer from Argentina this year. It shows superb consistency and stands as a paragon of gastronomic wines through its high acidity, low pH and moderate alcohol levels. It’s a thought-provoking chardonnay that exhibits an herbal and spicy fragrance reminiscent of green ginger, chopped spearmint and green curry, with a strikingly bright, crystallized acidity and mineral-rich tension, making it an excellent companion for Southeast Asian cuisines.

The arguably most gastronomic malbec from Catena we tasted this year was the Catena Zapata Malbec Mendoza Adrianna Vineyard River 2022, which is also a deliciously austere expression of Adrianna Vineyard from the cool 2022 vintage made with 100 percent whole clusters, showing its mineral claws and polished but fresh al dente tannins.

According to Alejandro Vigil, the winemaker for both Catena Zapata and El Enemigo, the climatic conditions in 2022 were reminiscent of the cool 2021 but with less rainfall. But it is important to note that these conditions varied significantly across Mendoza. For example, the Adrianna Vineyard in Gualtallary was cooler, while the Nicasia vineyard in Paraje Altamira saw higher-than-usual temperatures. In general, it was drier in Uco and rainier in the eastern part of the region.

LOVE FOR 2022

Vigil speaks highly of 2022 – going so far as to call it the best year he has lived through as a winemaker – despite several frosts that year as well as heavy rains in February, which added to the stress of harvesting the white grapes. He also noted that it was rare to see three great vintages in just a five-year span, referring to the trio of cooler vintages in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Santiago Achaval of Matervini also expressed his fondness for 2022, calling it “a tripod vintage” with freshness, ripe fruit and good quality and quantity of tannins. This held true for his deep, powerful wines from Mendoza and Salta, with both showing great concentration from the natural low yield.

Marcelo Belmonte of Grupo Peñaflor likened 2022 to 2021 in terms of temperature, although he added that 2022 was drier. “I love 2022,” he said. “It was a vintage with superb quality here in Mendoza. It was a cool vintage and I believe the cooler ones are always more interesting.”

The most challenging aspect of the vintage might have been the severe frost on March 30, which hit many vineyards and accelerated the harvest. Those who couldn’t harvest before the frost faced a more complicated situation, according to Rodolfo Opi Sadler, the veteran winemaker at Mascota Vineyards, which delivers excellent wines of great value in Mendoza.

From a tasting perspective, it’s evident that many reds from 2022 displayed higher intensity and concentration compared with 2021, with an emphasis on fruit and tannins. That said, I find 2022 a little less homogeneous in terms of tannin quality and ripeness despite the fact that the best 2022 wines showed greater depth over 2021 and were mostly fresh, layered and polished.

In addition to our coverage of the 2022 vintage, we also tasted some wines from the warm, dry and much more challenging 2023 vintage, although most of the single-vineyard and top-range wines have yet to be tasted. Once again, frosts posed a major threat for 2023, leading to a record-breaking low yield. Heat waves and drought conditions further hastened the harvest, as reported by several producers.

German di Cesare of Trivento referred to 2023 as a "tiny, rapid harvest," emphasizing the need for speed and precision in a short harvest window. Pablo Cuneo, the head winemaker at Luigi Bosca, said 2023 had a warm spring and summer and was accompanied by a very low yield and an early harvest that even predated the hot 2020. However, he added, the wines managed to maintain freshness and lower alcohol levels.

But higher acidity is not tantamount to greater freshness. From my perspective, the freshness of fruit and tannins carries greater importance than laboratory data about acidity and pH. And Argentina’s mountain climate, which helps grapes retain acidity and freshness, along with the effect of old vines and the diverse massal selection of malbecs (making them more resilient in the face of climate change) also are factors that cannot be underestimated.

“Malbec is not one variety, it is 1,000 varieties,” said Catena, who added that the majority of malbec plantings in Mendoza are natural massal selections and most of the old vines are ungrafted, meaning the diversity and complexity within one grape is huge and the terroir expressions should be infinite. So for a thousand plots, there are potentially a thousand expressions of malbec.

Notable producers in Mendoza like Viña Cobos, Nieto Senetiner, Lagarde, Riccitelli, Norton, Durigutti and Trivento are harnessing the power of such old vines to produce exceptional wines. The spectrum of grapes and styles is vast, offering everything from opulent and refined cabernet-based blends like Cobo's Lujan old-vine Volturno 2021 to more stripped-down and intellectually stimulating offerings from Durigutti's Proyecto Las Compuertas line, from malbec to bonarda (charbono) and criolla.

Beyond Mendoza, Patagonia in the south of Argentina is also emerging as a gastronomic haven with top producers such as Bodega Chacra, Noemia and Otronia catching our attention with some mind-blowing wines. Noemia’s Bodega Noemía Malbec Patagonia 2020 showcases the elegance, perfume and drinkability that can be achieved with malbec. After savoring the first sip of this, it won’t be necessary to put the cork back in.

In the realm of lighter grapes and the whites from Patagonia, pinot noirs and chardonnays from Piero Incisa della Rocchetta’s Bodega Chacra continue to shine among the best of South America. Of particular note is the Chacra Chardonnay Patagonia 2023, whose concentrated, sharp minerals are compressed into an extremely pure, textured palate and persistent finish.

Venturing to the southernmost vineyard in the world, Otronia’s chardonnay, pinots and sparklings captivate with their demanding yet exhilarating nature. The Otronia Chardonnay Patagonia 2021 stands out as the brightest white we encountered from South America this year, challenging every facet of the palate with its vibrant green fruit, incisive acidity and chalky texture.

It is such wines that lend inspiration to the country’s wine scene, however disheartening the economic situation is. And it is such producers that are taking Argentina away from the old tradition of only making heavily-laden reds to crafting a diversity of wines that strike a fresh and harmonious chord while offering an amazing gastronomic experience and sense of place. These are wines that entice us to reach for more than just a single glass.

– Zekun Shuai, Senior Editor

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