Tacuil Doña Ascensión 2023

Ascensión Isasmendi de Dávalos, the “Doña Ascensión” for whom this wine was named, 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 wines.

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. Otherwise decant 20 to 40 mins.