Traslapiedra Tinto 2020
Type: Red
Country: Argentina
Region: Mendoza, Valle de Uco, Paraje Altamira
Grape Variety: Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Alcohol Percentage: 13%
Viticulture: Natural Wine
Climate: Continental climate with intense cold spells and wide year-round thermal amplitude
Terroir: Vines grow on a soilbed of alluvial soil, granitic gravels covered with carbonate calcium, at an altitude of 1100 masl. The vineyards offer a yield of 6000 kilos per hectare
Winemaking: Fermentation in concrete vats with native yeasts and aged for 12 months
Color: Garnet
Nose: Floral aromas with hints of black fruits and spices
Palate: Medium-full bodied with notes of spices and blackberries over a long and herbaceous finish
About the Winery:
Traslapiedra Tinto Paraje Altamira represents a new kind of Argentinian wine. It is the project of five friends who came together to make wine out of a newer GI in the Uco Valley, a Marine Desert at over 1,000 meters altitude high in the Andes mountains with calcareous soil known as Paraje Altamira. The spectacular ecological phenomenon of a “marine desert” is explained by the presence of marine sediments in the soils, spread millions of years ago throughout the valley by the Tunuyán River of oceanic origins. “And so was our Marine Desert created. A natural oxymoron. A contradiction that flooded our soil with white rocks.”
Lead winemaker Juanfa Suarez chooses to harvest as early as two weeks before other Independent Producers of Paraje Altamira (PIPA) to achieve “vinos de sed” (wines of thirst) where alcohol is a touch lower, the style is bright and juicy, and the wines are leaner than most (perceived) “typical” Argentinian reds. “Traslapiedra is a wine of thirst, able to quench the thirst of a sailor in the desert or a Bedouin at sea.”
Juanfa Suarez’s great-grandfather put roots down in Paraje Altamira in 1921 to experiment with winemaking. His son, Juanfa’s grandfather, turned to growing apples and pears on the land to survive economic fluctuations. Today, Juanfa farms 99 acres and vinifies 20% of the grapes for Traslapiedra, Rocamadre, Finca Suarez, and other projects, and he sells the rest of the fruit to surrounding wineries.
