Alta Vista : Terroir Selection Malbec 2015

An Argentine Malbec with Notes of Violets and Ripe Fruits

Count Patrick d'Aulan, heir to an ancient lineage of European nobility as well as to over 250 years of savoir-faire in winemaking, founded Alta Vista winery with the aim to apply French winemaking technique to New World terroir. He set his sights on the high-altitude terroirs of the Andes Mountains in Argentina. Since the inaugural vintage of 1998, the Alta Vista team has striven to produce great wines that authentically express Malbec, Argentina's flagship grape, as well as the characteristics of the Andean terroir in which it is planted. The estate now expands over 211 hectares of vineyards in Mendoza, which can be divided into 5 separate vineyards, each with its own unique personality. The vines in all 5 vineyards are planted at elevations over 1000m above sea level. In 2001, the estate began its Alta Vista Terroir Management program to fully understand the particularities of Argentina's Malbec terroirs. In 2007, Alta Vista entered into an agreement with the National Institute of Viticulture to create and authorize the name Single Vineyard on wine labels, paving the way for other local wineries with similar ambitions to do the same.

Other than their single vineyard wines, Alta Vista produces a line of Terroir Selection wines, combining Malbec from 5 distinct terroirs in the Lujan de Cuyo and Valle de Uco appellations. The Terroir Selection Malbec 2015 blends Malbec sourced 65% from the Albaneve Vineyard of Campo de los Andes, 11% from the Azamor Vineyard of Las Compuertas, 5% from the Serenade Vineyard of Alto Agrelo, 7% from the Alizarine Vineyard of Las Compuertas and 12% from the Ternis Vineyard of El Cepillo. While Malbec from Lujan de Cuyo tends to contribute ripe, long-lasting fruit to the wine's palate, Malbec from Valle de Uco lends the finished wine a certain strength, youth and roundness in texture. Following a manual harvest in 17-kilo boxes, the grapes are selected on a double-selection table, then destemmed and moved by gravity to 110-hectoliter cement tanks. Following a period of cold maceration, alcoholic fermentation takes place in a strictly temperature-controlled environment. A final long maceration at 28 °C allows the wines to express its full aromatic potential. The wine is aged in French oak barrels (of which 1/3 are new, 1/3 second use and 1/3 third use) for 12 months.

The Terroir Selection Malbec 2015 from Alta Vista offers a complex bouquet of violet petals, spices, fresh fruits and earthy touches on the nose. The ripeness of the fruit is perfectly contained, and balanced with just the right amount of oak. On the palate, this Argentine Malbec is fresh and aromatic, with a sleek and polished texture of great elegance. A powerful wine built to age 8 years in the bottle.