LUJAN DE CUYO
This full day excursion invites us to immerse ourselves in the Malbec wine region (Luján de Cuyo). Our first destination is the Vistalba winery, where the proposal is, in addition to getting to know its facilities, to learn how a blend is developed, through a fun game in which passengers will carry out their own tests at from different varietals, to create your own wine.
Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza province, Argentina, en the first foothills of the Andes Mountains, it constitutes a terroir of excellence, in which the gifts of nature and the wisdom of man have harmonized in an incomparable way to make it the best wine-growing area in Argentina, with universal projection of their wines.
Destined for a postcard of nostalgic beauty, with the powerful mountain, blue skies with intense suns, dry and cool climate, and arid and sandy lands, sometimes blessed by alluvial baths that come down from the mountain by the Mendoza River, the area today known as Luján de Cuyo, between 700 to 1,000 meters (3,280ft) above sea level, was transformed by man, since the ancestral times of the Inca and Huarpe cultures, with the contribution of Spanish and Italian migrations, into an area of crops pumpkin, corn and beans, and later, from the vine.
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Converted into an orchard by the combination of an unrepeatable microclimate and the rustic and industrious hands of men who learned about soils through the empire of centuries, this land is today the main area for the production of grape varieties in the Argentine Republic. There the wineries produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Torrontés of the highest quality. But fundamentally it is in Alto Agrelo, in Luján de Cuyo, where the best Malbec grape in the world is obtained..
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Also known as the "First Zone" of Argentine wines, it includes different districts of the departments of Luján de Cuyo. Its wines have won countless awards and are recognized among the best in the entire country. The Luján de Cuyo area is a true oasis for the cultivation of a wide range of fine grape varieties. These vineyards are located between 750 and 1,100 meters (2,460-3,6210 ft) above sea level. The climatic conditions (15º average temperature) allow the formation of color and tannins in the wines, making them suitable for prolonged aging. The denominations that are concealed at high altitude such as Vistalba, Las Compuertas or Perdriel are colder. As you descend, temperatures increase, forming different terroirs in a relatively short distance (no more than 20km).
Malbec is its typical variety, some vineyards over 50 years old that constitute an irreplaceable wine heritage. In the higher altitude areas, the wine has more body, acidity and color, conditions that decrease as you go down in altitude. Other characteristic varieties of the area are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Syrah, from which red wines for aging and scoops are made. In whites, Chardonnay and Sauvingnon Blanc achieve their best aromatic expression. The Semillon adapts very well to the higher regions on the right bank of the Mendoza River, producing a wine with excellent characteristics, suitable for aging.
Cellars:
Altavista - Lagarde - Kaiken - Riccitelli - Susana Balbo - Catena Zapata - Chandon - De Angeles