The unique parcels of ancient Malbec vines, planted over 100 years ago from original French clones, are perched over 3300 feet above sea level at the base of the Andes’ Aconcagua peaks, which are the highest in the Americas. Mendoza’s Luján de Cuyo department produces some of the best wines in Argentina. The most sought-after sub-district of Luján de Cuyo is the Alto Agrelo Valley where these 105-year-old vines are rooted in fine-grained sand, silt and clay soils, and are blessed with warm days and cool nights that drop down to 45 degrees. This crucial diurnal shift between day and nighttime temperatures allows for full phenolic ripeness while maintaining fresh acidity, fundamentals to any world-class wine. The locale of this impressive site not only delivers snow melt from the Andes, providing a pure water source for the fruit, it aesthetically delivers a majestic view of trained vines that dramatically sweep across a background of the grand snow-capped Andes.
Luján de Cuyo was the first delineated wine appellation and is widely considered the most desirable of the vast Mendoza region with Alto Agrelo being the most prestigious pocket. It is here that Belasco de Baquedano Winery’s winemaker, José Ponce, and consultant winemaker, Bertrand Bourdil, craft the “Ar Guentota,” which translates to, “Cuyo’s Soul,” from the region’s original language of the Huarpes Indians. Although Juan Ignacio Belasco only opened the winery in 2008, the ancient vines provide more than enough history and have delivered well-deserved rave reviews since their first bottling. This wine is hand-harvested, gravity driven then fermented in special tanks which allow juice to remain in contact with the skins and seeds due to a forced submerged cap. The wine is aged in two-year-old French barrels for a full year, which delivers just a mere subtlety of oak and allows the concentrated fruit to fully express itself. The wine is bottled unfiltered then aged for an additional twelve months in bottle prior to release. The result is a rich, dense wine of beautiful nuance and balance that could easily rival examples many times its price.
This wine displays a concentrated, deep purple core with magenta reflections on the rim. The generous nose is full of juicy black and blue fruit including blackberry, boysenberry and blueberry enhanced by notes of violets, leather, cedar, tobacco and crushed stone. The expansive palate is full-bodied, rich and silky, boasting ample layers of beautifully concentrated black and blue fruit integrated with a touch of earthiness that concludes with a finish that seems to never end. Ideally, decant this wine at cellar temperature then let the wine open up for thirty minutes before serving in large Bordeaux stems. Service temperature is key for the fruit, earth and acid’s balance; about 60-65F is ideal. This is a serious Malbec and at $23, you will be hard pressed to find another to rival it. For a Argentine pairing that will wrap up the summer in style, try
this Chimichurri recipe with a nice Ribeye.
