Manos Negras – Real Winemakers Get Their Hands Dirty

Real winemakers get their hands dirty – hands black with wines.

That is what Manos Negras (or translated to Black Hands) is all about, and that is how they make their handcrafted wines. Manos Negras was born out of the long-time friendship and professional collaboration of Alejandro Sejanovich and Jeff Mausbach, colleagues at Bodega Catena Zapata for almost 15 years. Alejandro has received numerous awards and recognition as one of the top winemakers in South America – no one knows the challenging terroir of Argentina better than he does.

Mano Negras wines are created to reflect the uniqueness of latitude winemaking. Each latitude possesses a unique terroir, with singular combinations of soil and temperature, which are ideally suitable for different varietals. 

The rugged hinterlands of Patagonia’s southerly vineyards contain one of the region’s highest iron content, which makes it ideal for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Altamira Uco Valley at an elevation of 4,000′, has Mendoza’s most unique soil profile, with a patchwork of sandy, silty and stony soils, painted white with calcium carbonate. This profile naturally brings down yields for an exceptional concentration of aromas and flavours. Their rocky character imparts a mineral texture to the Malbec wines.

The Paraje Altamira district of the San Carlos county, located in the southern Uco Valley at an elevation of 4,000′, has a highly concentrated limestone soil profile where the Malbec & Cabernet Franc excels. 

The Icon of South America – Alejandro Sejanovich and Jeff Mausbach

Exploring higher elevations while at Catena Zapata led Alejandro Sejanovich to follow his own path in conquering some of the most challenging terroir in Argentina. While not born into a winemaking family, he had always felt a connection with the land. His love for agriculture began growing up. Surrounded by vineyards and wineries, there was little to do apart from pestering the farmhands in the countryside. Agricultural engineering was then a natural degree choice where Alejandro graduated as valedictorian. After pursuing additional studies within his field, he joined Catena Zapata in 1993, eventually becoming vineyard director.

Agrelo-based Catena Zapata is where Alejandro met Chicago-born Jeff Mausbach, who worked in exports. ‘Our first meeting was about importing plants’, Alejandro recalls. ‘Once Jeff moved to Mendoza with his wife, I’d invite them round for Asados. Plus, our kids are a similar age. When foreigners started visiting the Bodega and wanted to meet the winemaker, we’d both receive them. Twenty-five years late, we only need a glance to know what the other is thinking.’

Eager for new challenges, Alejandro and Jeff left the Bodega as vineyard and wine education directors respectively in 2010 and started Manos Negras. Their aim was to create latitude-differentiated wines sourced from Mendoza, Patagonia and the north.

Today, they are considered one of the most knowledgeable experts on the terroir of South America today. In fact, Alejandro was the man responsible for some groundbreaking research on the Mendoza Malbec clones leading to his pioneering work in high-altitude vineyard plantings.

The winery only uses wild yeast strains for fermentation, with the whites being produced with no malolactic fermentation or oak influence. The Reds are aged in old French oak, with a very small proportion of new oak. Both red and white undergo cold maceration and cold fermentation.

Check out their range below!