Woe betide the wine merchant that ignores a tip from Jancis Robinson MW. It was her that first pointed us in the direction of Belasco de Baquedano with their cracking AR Guentota Malbec.
This is truly great value stuff from centenarian vines high up in Lujan de Cuyo, 1000 metres above sea level. Svelte and polished, with lots of violets and bright fruit on the nose backed up by a savoury-herbal undercurrent - blueberries, and bacon, raspberry coulis, with a gentle bitter, almost Amaro like, with a silken and seamless palate.
It was then made by Bertrand Bourdil, the former winemaker at Mouton-Rothschild and co-founder of Opus One. Their wines are far from your average Malbecs down the local pub: making the most of their high elevation and old vines, the style highlights the savoury notes of the grape and draws out a more sinewy character than is usually found in these parts. "Apo" is a term used by the indigenous Mapuche tribe as a tribute to the nature's elements, to the sun that shines down on them, to the rain, and to the water from the snow melting off the snow-capped Andes, all vital elements in the lifecycle of their vines.
The Details:
Country: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Style: Rich, Juicy, Smooth
Grape: Garnacha & Tempranillo
Abv: 14.5%
Producer
The Gomez Cruzado winery sits at the very heart of Rioja Alta. This was in the day when the wine trade between Rioja and France passed along the Tudela-Bilbao line, and the key Rioja wineries were located around the station of Haro. The winery sits just 100m from the station to this day.
Produced from grapes cultivated in the highest parts of the Ebro valley. Predominantly Garncaha (65%) from Alto Nejerilla, in the area between the towns of Badarán, Cordovin and Cárdenas where the vines grow in red ferrous clay soils; and Tempranillo (35%) from Samaniego, and the white limestone soils of Sierra Cantabria. Hand-harvested into 20kg crates with a selection of bunches at the winery. Garnacha and Tempranillo are destemmed and vinified separately. They undergo cold fermentation with native yeasts, and a short maceration. Then the two wines are assembled and refined in concrete for around 5 months.
Reviews: Belasco de Baquedano is a Lay & Wheeler favourite with a remarkable pedigree. The estate was founded in Mendoza by Juan Ignacio Belasco with the help of Bertrand Bourdil, one of the most talented winemakers of his generation. Bertrand was involved in the creation of Opus One (the joint venture between Robert Mondavi and Baron Phillippe de Rothschild), and was fully responsible for three 100-point wines as the former winemaker at Château Mouton-Rothschild in Bordeaux. Juan Ignacio and Bertrand decided to make world-class Malbec in the Alto Agrelo Valley in Luján de Cuyo in Argentina. Their 222 hectares of Malbec vines, some planted over a century ago in the foothills of the Andes mountain range lie over 1,000 metres above sea-level and the combination of high altitude, warm days, tiny yields and meticulous winemaking creates wines of intense flavour and balance. They have also started growing Torrontés, Argentina's aromatic white. Today, the estate is overseen by Juan Ignacio’s son, Mikel, who is continuing in his father’s footsteps, crafting some of the finest wines in the country.
