El Enemigo Cabernet Franc

The name Leo Messi inevitably comes to mind when we think of football. A long-standing Argentinean player who has beaten the achievements and records of most of the sport’s legends during his 20-year career. If we try to think of an equivalent in the world of wine, we would have to say that Alejandro Vigil is the king in Argentina. There is good reason he is known as the “Messi of wines”. A multi-award-winning winemaker who is responsible for the well-known Catena Zapata winery, he scored again when he joined forces with Adrianna Catena (daughter of Nicolás Catena) and started a project to rescue abandoned terroirs and forgotten winemaking practices. Co-owners of Bodegas Aleanna since 2006, their El Enemigo wines are becoming more and more famous and the Uco Valley area in Mendoza is gaining more and more praise.

One of their most prized wines is El Enemigo Cabernet Franc, a red wine made from Cabernet Franc and a small amount of Malbec. These are old vines grown in the heart of Gualtallary, Tupungato, at the foot of the Andes Mountains on lime and stone soils and more than 1400 metres above sea level. They are cultivated using respectful agriculture and the grapes are harvested in 5 stages with a total of 5 weeks between the first and the last. Once the grapes reach the winery, they ferment for 22 days at a constant temperature of 28ºC, with 28 days of maceration. The wine then ages for 6 months in French oak barrels, 20% of which are new.

Considering that Alejandro Vigil’s creations always win by a landslide, El Enemigo Cabernet Franc shares the elegance of a classic Bordeaux wine with the modern touch of the New World. A real pro from the Uco Valley.