The 2022 Extreme altitude Calchaquí Valley Collection

Ascensión Isasmendi de Dávalos was an historic and very important woman in the Argentine wine industry. The Dávalos winemaking history in the Calchaquí dates back to the mid 1800s, when Ascensión, founder of the oldest winery in Argentina, introduced malbec grapevines into the valley, changing the Calchaquí landscape forever.

Five generations after Ascensión brought the first malbec grape vines to the Calchaquí Valley, her descendants, Raúl and Alvaro Dávalos, continue to make wine there. Their winery and vineyard, in a little valley called Tacuil, produces acclaimed, 90+ point wines such as previous Partnership favorites like RD and Mayuco, along with the Bonner family’s wine, Tacana.

Typically, Raul eschews the use of oak in his wine. It is not the traditional Calchaquí way. His father, a staunch believer in this practice, was furious at Raúl’s plan to age this wine for 12 months in (well used and practically neutral) oak barrels. But times are changing, and Raúl’s friends begged him to try it with this special malbec.

The cabernet adds a dash of spice and elegance to the blend, softening the extreme altitude malbec’s tannin teeth. Beauty taming the beast. If you can resist polishing off a bottle in a single sitting, leave it open for a few days to see how it shifts (watch the black fruit). Only 7,000 bottles produced. 94 points (Atkin).

Matìas Etchart’s family have been making wine in Cafayate since 1850. After they sold their winery, Bodegas Etchart, to the French in 2015, Matìas left Cafayate for a small farm at the bottom of the Quebrada San Lucas, where he released his first harvest, to critical acclaim, the following year.

His bodega Arca Yaco is a true boutique estate, where Matìas is involved in winemaking, sales, communications, and every other aspect of the business. Matìas founded Arca Yaco in 2010, and in 2015 vinified the first harvest. Since the beginning his wines (Amar y Vivir, which we featured in our 2021 Argentina collection, as well as Imaginate) have received great recognition and prestige.

Imaginate is an unoaked malbec (concrete, stainless steel), with notes of chocolate, black cherry, bramble berries, and a refreshing minerality.

Daniel Guillen is one of those rare winemakers who believes that if you put the effort into the vineyard, the best thing you can do in the winery is get out of the way. The vineyard in question lies in an iron-rich dale south of Tacuil called Pucará. During the growing season, the grapes soak up minerals from the soil. At harvest time, Daniel’s family come to help pick the grapes, letting them macerate for 3 days before bacteria naturally present on the skins kicks off the fermentation process with no need for artificial aids.

Taste it now to find wild blackberries, black pepper (from the iron in the soil), tobacco, and leather. But if you can grab an extra bottle, cellar it till 2026 to see El Viticultor reach its zenith. Only 5520 bottles made.

Augustín Lanús and his Sunal wines have been perennial all-stars since our adventure in Calchaquí wine began. But this single-vineyard “Salvaje” is special even by his standards.

Augustín usually favors blending terroirs. Why do a single vineyard?

The answer is Cachi, a terroir at the northernmost edge of the valley, in the foothills of the snowcapped Cachi mountains. It’s the frontier’s frontier, bone dry except for snowmelt that drains easily through the sandy clay soil. To maximize Cachi’s impact, Augustín opted for no oak, and had the wine spend a year in a concrete egg. Despite its name, we found Salvaje to be surprisingly balanced, with cranberry and raspberry playing counterpoint to beets and fig. The noble savage. Only 6,000 bottles made.

Atypico is based in Tolombón in the Calchaquí Valley, where a small handful of winemakers work in vineyards at the very limits of where grapes can be grown. The project is dedicated to learning about local traditions and the unique micro-terroirs found at extreme altitudes, without being bound by tradition or expectation.

Notice the age of those malbec vines (the Calchaquí is known for exceptionally old vines). At Tolombón, the grapes get an early harvest (the reflective heat from the stony soil matures the grapes faster than usual). After that, it’s 4 days of cold maceration in stainless steel, and 18 months of aging in new barrels by Vicard of the Cognac region – the last of France’s great artisan tonnelleries (cooperages).

If you notice some subtle differences from the 2017, there’s more than just the vintage year at play. At harvest, the winemakers use only the best plots – you seldom get the same vine twice. With blueberry and black olive on the nose; balsamic, mint, and thyme on the palate; and a balanced mouthfeel with a long finish.

Winemaker Francisco “Paco” Puga began his career in Burgundy in 1999; his L’Amitié is a love letter to the region. With grapes from four different terroirs, the Robusto variation (like a reserve), includes 12 months wherein the grapes from each terroir sit separately in French barriques, followed by 12 months with all the terroirs co-fermenting together. Co-fermentation is an old practice – the “ancient science” as some in the wine world call it. Where better to experience it than the ancient soils of the Calchaquí?

This family business works with various grape producers in the Calchaquí region to achieve wines of unique identity. The enology is a simple interpretation of the terroir using stainless steel tanks, concrete tanks and French oak barrels. Working without fixed recipes, the family prefers to evaluate each climatic year to determine which tools will make their wines better.