Region At a Glance: Mendoza

Mendoza lies in the central-western region of Argentina, flanked by vast stretches of flat, dry land to the east, and by the stately, ominous Andes to the west. It is the country’s most dominant oenological province: over an expanse of 356,000 acres, Mendoza produces nearly eighty percent of Argentina’s wine.

Malbec is by far the most important grape in Mendoza, and thus in Argentina. Originally from the south of France, the Malbec grape found its way over to South America on the backs of European immigrants, who found the variety took well to the dry earth and hot sun of Mendoza.* The Malbec grapes in Mendoza are small berries in tight bunches, much different from the variety found in Bordeaux and southwestern France; their taste, too, is fruitier and more velvety. Much of the wine’s characteristics have not only to do with latitude, but with altitude: vineyards are anywhere from 2,300 to 4,600 feet above sea level. The sun in Mendoza is intense; high altitudes mean that the temperature drops low enough to ensure the grapes still develop complex flavors and deep color. Many bottles boast of altitude on their labels, as Argentine wine makers are seemingly as proud of their high altitude vineyards as Burgundian and Napa Valley wine makers are of select hillsides.

Malbec, though deliciously dominant, is not the only grape variety grown in Mendoza. Other red wines produced in Mendoza include Cabernet Sauvignon, Bonarda, Syrah, Tempranillo, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Tannat, and Barbera. White wines include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Semillon, Chenin Blanc, and Ugni Blanc.

Argentina as a whole, and Mendoza in particular, is continually working to improve the caliber of its wines. For most of Argentina’s wine producing history, wines were made in high quantities, with less effort directed towards quality. (In the world of wine, there is a general, inverse relationship between the two.) Much of the country’s production was meant as inexpensive, mass-produced table wine. One of my favorite stories comes from a winemaker in Maipú, a region in central Mendoza, who told me of shipping wine in the 19^th century: wine was shipped en masse to the capitol city of Buenos Aires, and bottled on arrival. The train conductors would help themselves to glasses as they traveled cross-country, and replace the wine they drank with water, so that the barrels would be at their proper weight at destination. By the time the train reached the capitol a week later, the wine was severely diluted – though frankly, it’s surprising that the trains arrived safely at all.

However, since the mid 1990s, Argentina has been making a concerted effort to improve its wines for domestic consumption, and especially for exports. The fact that Malbec is so popular in the United States, and still relatively inexpensive, is testament to the country’s endeavors. If you are fan of Argentine Malbec, I suggest you try a few of its other reds. There is some great Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah produced in Mendoza, but my personal favorite, next to Malbec, is Bonarda.

Check out James Molesworth’s review of the recent vintages of Malbec at the Wine Spectator.

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*For those of you bitten by the Malbec bug, I suggest trying the French varietal from Cahors, called Auxerrois, if only to understand just how different a grape may be from one side of the world to the next. I remember a wine tasting where I had my first sip of the French stuff: the man representing the producer, standing alone and looking bored, did not look very hopeful when I walked up with my empty glass. “We’re from Prayssac, in Cahors,” he said, “Do you know where that is?” I nodded, though he still seemed doubtful, shrugging while he poured me a few ounces. I remember the wine being inky, intense, and reminiscent of gravel – but this was all before I learned the virtues of spitting at wine tastings, so my memory may be a bit skewed.