The season began with a fresh and dry spring that favored good fruit set in the vines. During summer, temperatures were moderate, and in February and March – the months in which we pick up the grapes – we had bouts of rain. By the end of the season, rains lowered and temperatures were not very high; these last days were warm and stable, keeping the grapes turgid and avoiding over-ripeness. These conditions produced very fresh, highly aromatic wines, with intense colors, elegant tannins, and a great structure. Overall an excellent vintage for Altos Las Hormigas.
100% of this Malbec stems from the loamy soils of Gualtallary, lying at 1,400 meters above sea level. The soil presents limestone-covered pebbles and gravels that occupy 50-70% of the soil volume, with a high percentage of free calcium carbonate in the profile, granting to the wine a fresh minerality.
The grapes go through a double selection process and are poured by gravity into small concrete tanks. Alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts at 26ºC for 15 days, with a total maceration of 25 days. In order to maintain a careful, gentle handling, pumping is not used; the cap is rotated by manual pigeage throughout the fermentation. 2/3 of the wine was matured in concrete vats with no epoxy, while the remaining 1/3 was aged in 3,500 ltr untoasted foudres. Total aging of 15 months. Then, a 10 months aging in the bottle, before the wines was released. There was a soft filtration prior to bottling.
The 2021 vintage of our Gualtallary Malbec can be perfectly described as intense and deep. It shows a ruby red color, with marked glints and a violet soul. On the nose, notes of crunchy plums and blueberries appear first. As the wine opens, we can feel aromas of flowers and herbs, such as violets and native plants. Fruity notes are also present, especially tangerine peel and kumquats. As in all our wines from this area, there is a very marked mineral note reminiscent of graphite. It is a vertical wine in the mouth; it travels through it like a spear and along the way leaves fruit and herbal notes. The tannins are chalky and rounded. The wine has a crisp, salty feel on the finish. It is a wine of high concentration, wild and of great purity of place.
Vintage: 2021
Variety: 100% Malbec
Closure: DIAM 30 Cork
Volumen: 750mL
Alcohol: 13.5%
Total Acidity: 5.6 g/l
pH: 3.7
Residual Sugar: 2.3 g/l
