Wine Altos Las Hormigas, Malbec Appellation Gualtallary, 2016
Despite having to overcome a challenging growing season, this wine has thrived. With significantly lower yields, this grapes produced highly concentrated and intense flavors that offers and explosion of delight with every sip.
Characteristics
Wine Style:
Red - A highly concentrated red that offers complexity and balance with an abundance of fruit notes and a slight minerality.
Tasting Notes:
Fresh red fruit notes, cranberries and wild strawberries followed by layers of spice, Andean underbrush and herbs. On the palate, the sensations broaden, with intensely concentrated fruit moving through the mid-palate onto the finish with crescendo-like effect. Limestone tannins and calcareous soils build a firm and balanced structure in the mouth. A wine showing clear limestone-derived minerality and a long-lasting finish.
Gastronomy:
Would be a good companion for braised pork with mushrooms. Also a favourite with beef, venison and duck.
Vineyards:
100% Malbec varietal from the loamy soils of Gualtallary, at an altitude of 1,300 meters above sea level. The soil presents limestone covered pebbles and gravels that occupy 50-70% of the soil volume, with a high percentage of free calcium carbonate in the profile giving to the wine a chalky, fresh minerality.
Ageing method:
Matured in 3,500 ltr untoasted Foudres for 18 months, 12 months bottle ageing.
Interesting notes:
The season began with severe frosts that lowered yields by 30%. November brought a few dry Zonda winds that challenged the flowering stage and lowered yields even more. December and January brought heatwaves and late summer rains and lowered temperatures moved into the region just before harvest. In three weeks the region received levels equivalent to two years worth of rain. Therefore, grapes harvested prior to mildew or rot setting in were showing admirable level of acidity, lower alcohol content and fine tannins.
