Alto Agrelo, Lujan de Cuyo
2023 was a vintage of extremes. The beginning of spring was cool, with low rainfall, but at the end of October, a heavy frost affected the entire region. Towards the end of spring, a series of heat waves began and they lasted until the end of the harvest. The situation was different in Lujan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley. In Lujan, the heat wave remained until we picked up the grapes. In the Valley, it rained for a few days and this dampened the advance of grape ripening. The early harvest was decisive in maintaining the winery’s style. Despite the challenges of the harvest, these conditions favored wines with great concentration in the mouth, verticality, and texture.
The grapes come from a single plot in a vineyard located in Alto Agrelo, Lujan de Cuyo. The climate in this area is semi-desert, with hot days and cool nights. The selected plot has a stony soil profile. The vineyard has good vigor, ideal for the more pyrazinic profile we were seeking in this wine.
100% Cabernet Sauvignon handpicked grapes. Early harvest. Use of a sorting table to classify the clusters. Fermentation was carried out in concrete vats for 7 days, with 30% whole cluster and using only indigenous yeasts. Then it was pressed to continue the fermentation process without the grape skins. The temperature throughout the process was 22º C (72°F). It was aged in concrete vats for a minimum of 6 months. No oak aging.
A Cabernet Sauvignon from Altos Las Hormigas?
In our quest to rescue the local identity and the ancestral winemaking techniques, we found a small vineyard in the Alto Agrelo area of Luján de Cuyo, with the ideal profile to make a “Claret” style wine. For centuries, this was the style of Cabernet Sauvignon: fluid and tasty, with more texture than weight.
So, we made Cloud, an agile and very drinkable wine. It has a ruby red color with cherry hues. The nose is very intense, with notes of white pepper, blueberry, cassis, plum, gunpowder, roses and red tea. In the mouth, it has an ample, fruity entry with a textured mid-palate, and juicy tannins. The finish is long, with a very distinct pink pepper note. This is an ideal wine to pair with stuffed peppers, wild boar, lamb or rabbit terrines, and soft cured cheeses.
