LET THE LAND SPEAK
TerroiR
A TRULY AUTHENTIC WINE CANNOT BE REPRODUCED
There are different opinions about the meaning of the T word. Let’s start with the official OIV definition of Terroir:
“Vitivinicultural “Terroir” is a concept which refers to an area in which collective knowledge of the interactions between the identifiable physical and biological environment and applied vitivinicultural practices develops, providing distinctive characteristics for the products originating from this area. “Terroir” includes specific soil, topography, climate, landscape characteristics and biodiversity features.”
We find this definition a bit convolute, but three points defining Terroir clearly stand out:
- Collective Knowledge.
- Distinctive Characteristics of the wines.
- Soil, topography, climate, landscape and biodiversity.
DOES NEW WORLD HAVE TERROIR?
We have heard many times that the New World, because of its recent viticultural tradition and its widespread industrial approach on winemaking, cannot be a place of Terroir. We defy this statement, reminding those who say it that all traditions have a starting point. All continents appeared at the same time and regions very similar to even the most historic European wine areas, can be found in other parts of the planet. As our interest is focused on Mendoza and the development of its Terroir, we can narrow the question down to: “Does Mendoza have a Terroir?”
A TERROIR IN THE MAKING
Since our beginnings, it has been a shared opinion in our group that the Malbec tradition is the core of Mendoza as a developing Terroir. Mendoza has two centuries of tradition in winemaking, and this history has produced a local know-how based on collective knowledge of this grape and its relation with the local environment. Mendoza wines have distinctive characteristics based on soil, topography, climate, landscape and biodiversity.
SCIENCE, INTUITION & NATURE
Our Terroir work is based on a very extensive and patient endeavor. Over the course of two decades Alberto Antonini and Attilio Pagli have worked with the majority of the wineries of the region, and have tasted hundreds of thousands of Malbecs from every possible site of Mendoza. This enormous screening process has fueled the subsequent soil and morphology work of Pedro Parra, which has now, after five years of trial and error, led us to the first draft of our Mendoza Terroirs Map. Precision agriculture, aerial pictures, vigor maps and so forth, are all science tools that greatly help the Terroir work. Intuition guides our search when we taste and science helps our understanding when we try to understand the plant and rule out false explanations. Cooperation with nature is our creed as viticulturists, applying natural and biodynamic methods to enhance life in the soil, and health in the plants.
OUR METHOD
The Altos las Hormigas Terroir Project stems from the idea that the main creative force behind the wine is its place of origin, and not the winemaker. Mendoza history has gifted us with four centuries of local viticultural heritage, and we believe that Malbec is the best vehicle for this Terroir. Our project is aimed at showing how diverse its expression can be as we move across this vast and wonderful region. It was widely believed that quality in Mendoza was all about altitude of the vineyards and good practices in the vineyard. Our method departs from this vision, and identifies each Terroir Unit on the base of its climate, soil structure and morphology. Based on the work of our Terroir Specialist, Pedro Parra PhD, a clear reading of the Terroir Unit is the differential tool of our approach.
This process requires three steps:
- Define Terroir Units: a clear understanding of how Terroir works in the different climates of Mendoza is crucial for naturally balanced grapes (ripeness and natural acidity).
- Map Them: a good map is a basic tool. Wines are made in the vineyard and confirmed in the vat.
- Farm by Terroir Unit: keeping the different units separated is crucial to understand their character and how wines from a certain Terroir type evolves.
TASTE WITH YOUR MOUTH
As Jackie Rigaux teaches, Terroir wines are to be judged in the mouth with our tactile sense. It is a different approach to evaluating wine that he calls “Geo Sensing” or tasting the land. Tannin quality and persistence cannot be technically reproduced, they are a product of Terroir unicity.
VITICULTURAL TRADITION AND WINEMAKING INNOVATION
To further develop Mendoza Terroir tradition, its viticultural heritage must be treasured. Careful vine selections of Malbec have been realized by generations of viticulturists, in their old, intuitive ways of working the vineyard. Whereas winemaking style follows knowledge and innovation. Our innovation is firmly rooted in the character of each special site that we have identified as: diverse with a specific, unique and delicious profile. Only respect and patient listening to the message of Terroir can lead us toward our goal. Minimal intervention, indigenous yeasts, minimal extraction, neutral oak ageing, minimal SO2, and so forth, all these guidelines are to be followed to let Terroir speak.
LIMESTONE
Since 2006 Altos Las Hormigas has been focused on limestone soil vineyards to produce its high end Malbecs. Our technical team’s vast experience and knowledge of Mendoza Malbec has led us to the Valle de Uco, with its mountain-influenced climate and limestone soil profiles, as the most promising combination to attain wines of superior Terroir expression and ageing potential. When you savour such wines, vinified with a gentle hand, the texture and the aftertaste cannot be mistaken with anything else. It’s pure Terroir.
WINEMAKING
Every intervention on a wine means a step away from its origin. No intervention is impossible, but we try to do as little as possible in winemaking. Minimal extraction, neutral oak, natural yeast and very little sulfites… are just a few practices that guide us in what we do. We also seek naturally low alcohol through harvesting as early as possible, based on soil type.
THE OTHER SIDE, ANTI TERROIR:
Many voices in the industry claim soil influence is irrelevant and believe that wine can be made in almost any place. They believe that an experienced winemaker can overcome all challenges based on technique, and view climate and soil as problems to deal with in order to achieve the style of wine they are seeking. This is the Anti Terroir school of thought: vinify a product, and obtain the desired characters regardless of the region’s natural features of climate and soil.
When Man believes he is able to achieve anything he wishes for and manipulates all other forces towards this goal, he loses his connection with reality around him and the wines he produces lose all sense of place. Terroir work on the other hand, eagerly listens to the responses of the place and the vines, and uses this information as indications to move forward in accordance and cooperation with the plant and the environment.
CONCLUSIONS: A WORK IN PROGRESS
Our long journey in the wine world has led us to believe that the ultimate creative force of wine sits in the place of origin. Nature is much more creative and diverse than man, and the bag of tricks of a winemaker cannot compete with billions of years of geology and climate, and thousands of years of viticulture. Terroir is really a way of looking at wine and at winemaking, and therefore pursuing Terroir translates into an endeavor that never ends. Every vintage we feel that we are moving one step forward, and getting closer to a soulful expression of Mendoza, and a full accomplishment of its unicity. Stay tuned.
Our goal is to create a map to complexity. Getting to know and to understand the Mendoza region, to the point of drawing a map of the different Terroirs that exists, is the first relevant step ahead. Making wines that draw their complexity and character from their origin, and not from the winemaking style, this is the task that the Altos Las Hormigas team has taken as a professional and human challenge. So far we have identified three areas of limestone soil in Mendoza, that clearly stand out as “Grand Crus” of Malbec, and many other areas of good and sometimes superior quality.
