The premium wine region of Mendoza in Argentina has impressed many winemakers across the world because of its high altitude and dry climate conditions. Alberto Antonini, a reputed winemaker from Tuscany too, fell in love with the charm of the Mendoza wine region instantly. Along with entrepreneur Antonio Morescalchi, he started using the region’s natural resources to the best of its abilities to produce the grape varietal, Malbec, for which Argentina is known for today.
Mendoza is located at a height of around 6900m with the Andes mountain range at the backdrop. Known for its dry, desert climate (very hot days and very cool nights), this region is known for producing full-bodied and high-quality grapes. Finca Altos Las Hormigas, the vineyard of this brand, is situated in Lujan de Cuyo, at a height of about 800m above sea level.
Out of the 206 hectares of land, 40 are exclusively dedicated to producing Malbec varietals. The other vineyards from where grapes are sourced to create wines at Altos Las Hormigas are Primera Zona, Uco Valley, Altamira, Vista Flores and Gualtallary.
The winemaking philosophy at Altos Las Hormigas is very simple. The expert team that works here ensures that it maintains as little intervention as possible while crafting the wines. Some of the steps that it takes towards this goal are using natural yeasts, neutral oak for fermentation, minimal extraction techniques and negligible quantities of sulphites.
Terroir-driven wines are the speciality of this brand. As part of the Terroir Project, the winemaking team of this brand ensures that terroirs are identified in the Mendoza area as a first step, based on their soil quality and climatic conditions. These areas are then mapped and the vines are planted accordingly and farmed on the basis of terroir unit. This is the main reason why the grapes grown here are pure representations of their terroir characters.
http://www.altoslashormigas.com
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