Happy Holidays Everyone!

 

Coming to Hawaii in early January 2008:  Achaval Ferrer: New World Wines for Terroirists

 

Trying to pick one winery in our portfolio over another, is akin to favoring one of your own children over his/her siblings. Inevitably there is one producer in each geographic region that deserves special recognition. JMD has many of these that have achieved world class status through painstaking work, combined with the good fortune of being located in a “sweet spot.”  Like Zind Humbrecht in Alsace, or Henschke in South Australia --- Achaval Ferrer in Argentina has acheived similar “cult status.”  These are high altitude, single-vineyard wines from Argentina’s Mendoza region --- their sites are the very last piece of cultivated land before you arrive at the Andes mountains! We call them:  “New World wines for terroirists.”.  Achaval Ferrer produces three single vineyard Malbecs: all three of them are from very old, low-producing vines in very special places, highlighted by the flagship, Finca Altamira. This vineyard lies alongside the Tunuyan River, in the southwestern part of the Uco Valley, at 1050 meters above sea level. Soils are sandy, with gravel and boulders mixed in. The eighty-year-old plants are very balanced to low productions (350 grams of grapes per plant, one bottle of wine per three plants). This allows a minerality in the wine not found in wines of higher yielding vineyards. And this minerality is related to soil structure particular to Altamira. The altitude is very important: The higher you go, the better quality of sunlight the plant receives. The closeness to the river is critical: In Mendoza the rivers are the cool-air conduits out of the Andes mountains. So you have cooler nights than vineyards that are a mile away from the river (More aromas, better color, more vivacious acidity). And there are less extreme-heat days during summer: again more aromas, with subtle violet and red fruit tones. Add in the surrounding ecosystem: remember --- It’s the last cultivated piece of land before you arrive at the Andes mountains. Neighboring vegetation changes the character of the weather as much as exposure.  All in all, these are an eloquent exposition of the characteristics of terroir. Combine these great sites with a talented winemaker and voila!  Roberto Cipresso, partner and winemaker of Achaval-Ferrer, also owns an estate in Montalcino, Tuscany.  Roberto is considered one of the most talented young Italian enologists by the critical press.  His talents, along with the passion of his partner: Santiago Achaval, have helped to create the property’s meteoric rise since their beginnings in 1998.

 

#9034            Finca Mirador 2005                        6/750                        $80.00/Bottle           

93 Points: Wine Spectator (Oct. 15, 2007). "Offers a wide range of vivid purple and black fruit flavors with a piercing intensity, as notes of violet and iron race alongside the exotic plum cake, blueberry and black currant. Packed, but the structure is dominant for now, with loam and iron notes clamping down on the finish. Best from 2008 through 2012. 577 cases made. –JM"   With Finca Mirador, their goal is to allow the vineyard to express its terroir.  Old vine Malbec in Medrano, Mendoza, at an altitude of 2,400 feet to the west of the Tunuyan river. The vines are planted on their own roots, and are more than 70 years old. Yield per plant was less than one pound of grapes. (1/3 of a bottle of wine). This is equivalent to 0.75 tons per acre, or 12 hectoliters per hectare.  Finca Mirador’s personality shines through the wine, vintage after vintage, with a recognizable and repeated signature. Fermentation took place in a small tank. Aged in French Oak barrels, 100% new, for 14 months. Bottled unfined & unfiltered.

 

#9033            Finca Altamira 2005                        6/750                        $80.00/Bottle           

94 Points: Wine Spectator (Oct. 15, 2007). "Starts with a gorgeous nose of crushed plum and bluebell aromas before following up with a very concentrated but deftly balanced palate of plum sauce, spice, blueberry, boysenberry and sweet black licorice, all held together by a vibrant, minerally spine. The finish is superlong and supersilky. Drink now through 2015. 669 cases made. –JM"   Old-vine Malbec, this vineyard was planted on its own roots  in 1925.  A 10 acre vineyard (in the La Consulta region of the Uco Valley, Mendoza.) situated 3,400 feet above sea level. The great age (more than 80 years) of the plants balances the crop at the extremely low yields of less than one pound of grapes per plant (1/3 of a bottle of wine). This is equivalent to 0.75 tons per acre, or 12 hectoliters per hectare. The soil is poor and sandy with a large alluvial sediment, and there is some protection from wind provided by the chestnut and cypress trees that surround the estate. Temperatures here in the growing season can be in the mid 30’s centigrade during the day, dropping to around 12° at night.  The wine is aged in French oak barrels, 100% new for 14 months.

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#9032            Mendoza Malbec 2006            12/750                        $19.75/Bottle           

91 Points: Wine Spectator (Oct. 15, 2007). "Ripe and forward, with blackberry and boysenberry fruit augmented by notes of violet, mineral and sweet toast. The long, rounded finish shows a minerally tang. Drink now through 2008. 8,075 cases made. –JM"

50 years old Malbec vine-stalks located at 980 meters above sea level in Vistalba, Medrano and Uco Valley. The average yield is over 1.3 kg per plant. With this “entry level” Malbec, they want to emphasize all the characteristics of this unique cepage. Their work in the vineyards reinforce leafs over roots, and emphasizes the soul of the fruit. Their objective is to preserve the vertical column, this being the first step of a trilogy that continues as an ascending stairs with Quimera – a design wine - and Finca Altamira, Finca Bella Vista and Finca Mirador, the sublimations of the terroir. The wine was aged for 10 months in oak barrels, 95% French and 5% American. Its unfined and unfiltered.