Altos las Hormigas Malbec Clásico

You can’t talk about Malbec without mentioning Argentina. This variety paradoxically originates in Cahors (France), but it is in Argentina where it has found its home, and in combination with the terroir here it can really show off, expressing itself in all its fullness, and ending up becoming the most cultivated variety in the country with 44,387.5 hectares. Both the importance of the soil and the potential of this grape were discovered at the Altos las Hormigas winery, in the Uco Valley (Mendoza province), where they made Altos las Hormigas Malbec Clásico, a blend with different grapes of this variety.

The Altos las Hormigas Malbec Clásico blend comes from vineyards located in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley (in a smaller percentage) where the vines grow on well-drained soils, with a silty-sandy texture, which allows the roots to grow several metres below ground. This great root capacity allows the vine to find water and withstand the dryness of the high temperatures (almost desert-like), which are countered by very cool nights, with a significant temperature variation that encourages the development of anthocyanins (resulting in intensely coloured berries). Here the grapes are harvested by hand and the best bunches are selected to be sorted into different batches.

Each batch is vinified separately in stainless steel tanks, becoming a delicacy for the native yeasts (which cause the fermentation to begin). The 10 days of this process involve decisive care and vigilance, tasting samples of the must-wine up to three times a day. Once the wine is how they want it, Altos las Hormigas Malbec Clásico is blended and aged in cement vats for a minimum of 9 months.