Diego’s Pick - April 2020

Proyecto Las Compuertas

Malbec 5 Suelos

On 17 of April every year since 2011 we celebrate the Malbec World Day to commemorate the first vine national park “Quinta Nacional”, founded in Mendoza in 1853.

At that time, Domingo F. Sarmiento was president of Argentina. He was born in the vine-growing province of San Juan and through his life was very interested in wine. One of his many reforms was to introduce an agricultural site dedicated to investigating the development of grapes on the site now occupied by government house in Mendoza. Michel Pouget, a French engineer, was entrusted with this task and he introduced numerous varietals from Europe, including Malbec.

Malbec comes from the Cahors region in France where it has been mainly used for blending. But it was in Mendoza where it found its home, in the poor and mineral soils of the Andes, in the height, luminosity and great thermal amplitude of its vineyards.

It is in April, the month we celebrate Malbec around the world and I have specially selected the Malbec 5 Suelos for this occasion!

Malbec 5 Suelos is made by Durigutti Family Winekames in Las Compuertas, the Western region of Lujan de Cuyo in Mendoza. Las Compuertas is at 1,050 m.a.s.l., the climate is cooler, it has diversity of soils and it is where traditional viticulture methods have continued to be used over the century. Since 2007, the Durigutti brothers have been recovering and revitalizing the history and the traditions of this emblematic wine region of Lujan de Cuyo. From 5 hectares to 25 in total today, they aspire to develop, along with other local producers who maintain their vineyards with pride, the stewardship to offset the encroaching urbanization.

Hector and Pablo Durigutti had a precise analysis done of their vineyards, identifying 5 distinct soil types which resulted in 5 different wines. They have carefully adjusted their care of the vines accordingly, coaxing the best grapes out of the 75-104 year old vines. The whole grape fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts and takes place in concrete eggs and then a final blend is determined.

They call Las Compuertas home, living and raising their families there. The Compuertas Project is their way of giving back to the region. As Pablo explains, “We set out to become a part of Las Compuertas. We feel a strong commitment to reclaiming the traditions of this historic wine-making area and becoming the interpreters of this unique terroir.”

The resulting wines are entirely unique and elegant representatives of the best this region has to offer.

Aging: 3 months in 500 liters of 3rd and 4th use oak barrels, and more than 11 months in concrete eggs without epoxy.

Tasting Notes: Bright red wine. Succulent and juicy. Beautiful red and black fruits, with the attractiveness of blackberries and ripe plums. Very tasty and with great freshness.

Food pairing: barbeque, beef, cheese & charcuterie, lamb, pork

Awards: 95 Points Tim Atkin + others!

Total production: 7,840 bottles

On this note, I raise my glass & happy Malbec celebrations to everyone!

Cheers!