Altos Las Hormigas Tinto
NOTE : You need a mix of any 6 bottles to checkout - we ship in multiples of 6 bottles with a 6 bottle minimum.
Tasting Notes
On the nose, aromas of strawberries, figs, and red fruits prevail, followed by notes of clove, herbs, eucalyptus, and pine. The palate is round with a silky texture and complementing flavours of red fruits and spice. The finish is long and linear with refreshing acidity.
Producer
Friends and business partners Alberto Antonini and Antonio Morescalchi have come a long way since they were impressed by Mendoza’s vineyards on their first visit in 1995. They have gone from being youthful interlopers to one of the country’s leading producers, as well as being pioneers of a more elegant style of Malbec.
Alberto and Antonio work very closely with Pedro Parra (widely regarded as the South American expert on soil and vineyard mapping) in order to identify the best locations to grow their grapes. Digging and probing each corner of Mendoza, they have discovered outstanding sites and aim to reveal their distinct characters through their wines. From Luján de Cuyo they obtain fine tannins, concentration and a dark purple colour, whereas the calcareous, high-altitude sites of Vistaflores, Altamira and Gualtallary each bring distinctive perfumes and mouth-filling textures.
A biodynamic approach in the vineyard, as well as minimal intervention in the winery – including indigenous yeasts, a move from oak to concrete for the Malbec Clásico as well as the use of large, neutral oak for ageing the single vineyard wines – are practices dictated by Altos Las Hormigas’ philosophy to ensure the wine stays true to its place of origin. Their combined wealth of experience as a winemaking team, as well as their never-ending experimentation and desire to produce the best wines that Argentina can offer, has made Altos Las Hormigas a Malbec specialist, with a reputation as one of the country’s top producers of this variety.
Vineyard
This new wine is a blend of the three traditional Mendoza grapes, widely planted and blended before varietally labelled wines came into fashion. While Malbec and Bonarda continue to be the two most planted varieties in Mendoza, Semillon has fallen out of favour, with only 728 hectares left in 2017. In spite of this, winemaker Alberto Antonini believes Semillon is the most suitable white varietal for Mendoza, as it retains its natural acidity in the dry, sunny climate. Grapes for this wine come mainly from vineyards in Luján de Cuyo, with a small percentage coming from Medrano. The region has a semi-desert climate with hot days and cool nights. Soils in Luján de Cuyo have good water drainage and a fine silt-sandy texture. In soils such as these, vines put down deep roots, helping them resist heat waves, which are common during the summer in Mendoza. All work done in the vineyard was conducted according to biodynamic principles.