Altos Las Hormigas, 'Appellation Altamir' Uco Valley Malbec 2014
GRAPE VARIETY: 100% Malbec
REGION: Valle de Uco, Mendoza, ARGENTINA
TASTING NOTES
Fresh and delicate on the nose showing layers of red cherries and raspberries combined with herbal notes of wild rocket and thyme and a touch of minerality. On the palate it is elegant and supple with fine tannins providing structure. A graceful, complex, deep and structured wine with considerable length.
- Features: Vegetarian; Vegan; Sustainable
- Alcohol (ABV): 14.5 %
- Acidity: 5.31 g/l
- Residual sugar: 2.37 g/l
- pH: 3.90
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
Altos Las Hormigas is based in Luján de Cuyo, the first officially recognised appellation in Mendoza and one of the region's premium vine growing areas. The estate is known as a Malbec specialist with a reputation as one of the country's top five producers of this particular variety. Alberto Antonini and fellow Tuscan, Antonio Morescalchi, were so impressed with the vineyards in the area around Mendoza, following their first trip to Argentina in 1995, that they persuaded a few friends to join with them in buying this estate. The estate covers 88 hectares with 56 in production.
VINIFICATION
The grapes went through a double selection process and were harvested into small concrete containers. The alcoholic fermentation began with indigenous yeasts at 24°C. The wine spent three weeks on its skins. In order to maintain careful, gentle handling, pumping over was not used, instead the cap was rotated by manual pigeage throughout the fermentation. The wine was matured in 3,500 litre untoasted Foudres for 18 months, and a further 12 months in bottle. There was a coarse filtration prior to bottling, to ensure that the quality of the wine was not interfered with.
