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ARGENTINA is the fifth largest wine producer in the world and until the early 1990s it produced more wine than any other country outside of Europe. But it was quantity rather than quality and 90% of its wine was drunk domestically.

In the late 1980s producers started planting vines in cooler areas to extend ripening and trained them on wires for better fruit quality.

According to Jancis Robinson, no wine-producing country in the world has made more progress in the closing years of the 20th century – at least viticulturally and oenologically, if not financially.

Argentina, due to its large influx of Italian and Spanish immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries, has a wine-drinking culture similar to that of Europe’s Mediterranean countries.

So, according to Bodega Catena Zapata managing director Laura Catena, this culture leads people to make wines with passion, respecting and preserving traditions as they incorporate necessary innovations with caution. These are the keys to preserving a country’s wine culture and to non-commoditisation.

Malbec has turned out to be the perfect grape for Argentina’s warm climate, producing rich, fruity yet age-worthy wines which are more impressive than any Malbec-based Cahors from the grape’s home in south west France.

After a period during which Malbec was grubbed up to make way for more international varieties, Argentinian wine exporters realised that Malbec represents their point of difference, much envied by their competitors across the Andes.

Mendoza is the engine room of Argentinian winemaking, producing 60% of its wine (more for exports). It is followed by San Juan and the high-altitude vineyards around Cafayate in Salta – some of, if not the highest vineyards in the world.

Catena sums it up: “Privileged cool-climate regions, high altitude with alluvial, well-drained stony and limestone soils – a viticulturalist’s heaven for high quality and perfectly ripe fruit with moderate alcohols and good natural acidity. There is still unexplored land and regulations are not as restrictive to experimentation as they are in many European countries.”

Trivento marketing director Mónica Caamaño says: “Malbec will be our USP for a long time. However, it is important to support this strategy with diversification of styles, such as late harvest, sparkling, low-alcohol or natural sweet wines.

“We are aware that Malbec is our most valuable variety and that Argentina has built its image on it – Malbec represents 63% of our exports. Nevertheless, you can find other interesting varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Torrontés or Syrah that can create beautiful examples. Moreover, you can taste Argentina’s terroir diversity in each of these varieties.”

Caamaño continues: “The biggest challenge as a wine producer is to respect what the terroir delivers. A brand owner has the duty to build and grow the Argentina brand and Malbec brand in different markets. Then each winery has to develop and value its own differential attribute – terroir, variety, distribution channel, etc.”

Enotria & Coe looks after Grupo Peñaflor’s portfolio of wines in the UK and wine director Dirceu Vianna Junior MW says: “Argentina practically built the Malbec category, therefore it owns it. This is a strong USP. Yes, we are seeing wines from Chile, New Zealand and varietal labelled French examples. However, Argentina is synonymous with Malbec. It is intrinsically linked and the category is way ahead of any other country. The style is fruit-forward, ripe, succulent, broadly consistent and gives consumer pleasure.”

Zuccardi head winemaker Sebastian Zuccardi says: “Understanding our terroir is our biggest opportunity and is one of our pillars that we continue to work on every day. Since 2008 the winery has had an area of research and development, dedicated to the study of the terroir and the different variables that affect wine.”

The company recently opened its Zuccardi Valle de Uco winery in Paraje Altamira, Uco Valley. Zuccardi says: “This area has special characteristics: wide heterogeneity of soils, cool weather and temperature range. The winery is a tribute to the mountains that define the climate and the soils of the region.

“We are looking for a fresher style of wine. We pick earlier than before and use larger, untoasted and older oak. The aim is to make wines that show the place they are from and not the influence of the winemaker,” he adds.

The then Claro Wine Group, searching for the best terroir in Argentina, bought its first area of land for vineyards in 1997. Today, its Doña Paula brand has more than 760ha in the premium areas of Luján de Cuyo and Uco Valleys within Mendoza.

Gualtallary is one of Mendoza’s newest and most sought-after regions and Doña Paula has more than 135ha of vines planted in this area.

Now part of the Santa Rita Estates division, the Doña Paula brand is exported to more than 50 countries. Brand manager Lucia Mallea says: “Malbec is the Argentinian flagship variety. It’s what we mostly sell and it represents us in the world. We are still studying the characteristics of Malbecs from different soil and climate conditions and learning how to get the best from every region.

“Besides, we think the future of Argentina is Malbec-based red blends with varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Pinot Noir, among others. Red blends have more complexity and allow us to show the best expression of each individual terroir. Doña Paula’s portfolio includes a red blend at every price point,” says Mallea.

Doña Paula head of viticulture Martin Kaiser has, for the past seven years, been working on the Terroir Project to better understand the influence of the climate, soils and grape varieties in Doña Paula’s wines. Kaiser has devoted much of his time to conducting extensive research through Argentina’s terroirs.

A significant discovery was layers of calcium carbonate (limestone) in some soils and later confirming that it has an effect on the wines. The study of more than 1,000 sites in the brand’s vineyards has shown that limestone is quite common in the region but the effect of its presence is only relevant in cool-climate regions (for example in the highest areas of Uco Valley), where flavours are riper compared with soils with less limestone.

Bodegas Fabre owner and wine-maker Hervé Joyeux Fabre says: “I believe that, internationally, Argentina has managed to position itself very well as consumers perceive our wines as being reasonably premium while providing outstanding value for money. In addition, our finest wines are gaining market share year on year.

“For producers, the main challenge is being able to maintain a high standard of quality while breaking even financially – given that we have a 30% inflation rate in Argentina and we are competing with other countries with a more favourable exchange rate.

“But we have the opportunity to position our ‘national grape variety’ as a ‘classic’ by looking at examples from France or other countries, rather than just producing Malbec because it is trendy.

The only way we will be able to make Malbec a truly international grape variety is by looking at what other countries are doing and by offering several alternative styles,” says Fabre.

Catena says: “To me, there are many similarities between the different styles of Pinot Noir in Burgundy and the styles of Malbec in Argentina. Like Pinot Noir, Malbec has delicate fruit aromas and varies depending on the soils where it is grown. Malbec likes a climate which is not too hot and that is why we grow our best Malbec at high altitude, above 1,000ft elevation. Also, we have extraordinarily diverse populations of Malbec – pre-phylloxeric – in Argentina, and similar to the Pinot Noir populations in Burgundy, we think this diversity makes wines that are more elegant and expressive.”

Finca Flichman chief winemaker German Berra sounds a note of warning. “Climate change is a big concern for farmers. Our vine growing regions are typically dry and we are experiencing an increase in rainfall that could affect yields and quality if we don’t research how to manage the vineyards properly under new conditions. “

OTHER VARIETIES & STYLES

Doña Paula winemaker Marcos Fernandez says: “Cabernet Franc is showing great potential in terms of quality concentration and potential of ageing. But we have to increase the planted hectares to reflect more opportunities of growing.

“Cabernet Sauvignon is the biggest growing in terms of sales, also Bordeaux blends based on Malbec reflect this. I think Malbec had opened the door and now consumers feel confident to taste other things from Argentina.”

Sebastian Zuccardi says another of Argentina’s strengths is its diversity. “We are not only Malbec, we have other unique strains, such as Bonarda and Torrontés. Bonarda has great adaptability, is a very juicy grape to make wines with less tannin structure and it works very well.”

Fabre says: “We all agree that Argentina can produce some outstanding wines from other varieties than Malbec. It is still relatively difficult for Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay to compete with similar wines from other countries which have a longer history of production. For varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, it can be difficult for Argentina to provide a credible offer given the very small vineyard area dedicated to those varieties.

“With Viñalba, Bodegas Fabre chose to offer alternatives with Malbec based on dual varietal wines such as Malbec/ Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec/Cabernet Franc, Malbec/Syrah, Malbec/Petit Verdot, Malbec/Touriga Nacional.

“We believe it is the best way to encourage consumers to try the other varieties which Argentina can offer,” says Fabre.

Enotria & Coe’s Vianna says: “The greatest challenge (for Argentina) is to get consumers to appreciate Torrontes, among other grape varieties, and not to be perceived as a country that only produces Malbec.

“In terms of production the main challenge is to achieve ripeness at lower alcohol levels, although this is not an exclusive problem to Argentina.

“In terms of opportunities the search for diversification through regional styles is definitely something producers should start to strive for. Consumers in the future should speak about Altamira, Vista Flores not Malbec.”

Vianna adds: “In the future the best wines coming out of Argentina will not be Malbec but blends.”

Gauchezco Wines owner Eric Anesi, says: “Today’s trends are for wines that respect their origin. Wines that have more fruit and less oak. Wines that express their terroir from their respective growing zone, whether that be from as far south as Patagonia, passing through Mendoza up to the north in Salta, and, of course, the personality of the winemaker.”

Flichman’s Berra says: “I find it interesting to plant Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, especially in warmer areas where they reach good maturity and produce complex wines. In terms of styles, the most challenging now is to make wines that talk about the region and not about the oenologist – it means making wines without any intervention or additives other than good grapes to express the flavours and structure that nature produces itself. I call it ‘sensitive winemaking’.”

“I travel a lot promoting our wines and I can say that most of the consumers know about Malbec and not so much about other varieties such as Bonarda, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petit Verdot or Torrontes. Once they try the wines it is a new world for them. It is interesting Finca Flichman’s most successful wine in the US is not a pure Malbec, it is a blend from the Uco Valley,” says Berra.

EXPORTS

Trivento’s Caamaño says: “Argentina’s key export markets, and Trivento’s, are the UK and US. The eager industry is watching every movement or sign from Asia. We know there is great potential there. UK and US markets are trendsetters, especially because of their curious, adventurous and relatively well-off consumers.”

Santa Rita Estates’ key markets are the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Brazil and Denmark. In 2015 Doña Paula ranked ninth in wine exports from Argentina, reaching 400,000 9-litre cases and growing 24% on the previous year.

Doña Paula’s Fernandez says: “Argentina in the last few years has grown in exports for white wines –Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are in the biggest growth. I think this situation is because the wines are showing more fresh style from the acidity and less oak. Wines are more bright, mineral and vertical.”

MOVING FORWARD

Catena Zapata’s Laura Catena says: “There is less tourism to Argentina than to many of the European wine regions. Therefore, few people know how magical and historic our wines and our wine culture are. We need to work harder at getting wine lovers around the world to visit our wine regions and learn about our wines.”

Berra agrees: “The most effective way to promote them is to invite people from abroad to visit our cities, our wineries, our vineyards. Experience the culture, breathe the air that grapes breathe, and taste those wines that are difficult to find in their countries. Once they go back home, they talk about it to others and then the communication flows.”

Berra adds that the US is the number one market. “Malbec has been very well accepted for its easy-drinking, fruity style, and it is steady at the moment.

“The UK is the second and was growing about 10% during the first semester of 2016, which I find interesting because it is a market that knows about Argentinian wines and seeks good quality at a good price. Third position is for Canada, focusing on Malbec in the lower price level.”

Gauchezco Wines’ Anesi says: “The main challenge we are facing is how not to be pigeonholed and tire the end consumer out on the Malbec variety. Our hope and what we foresee as an opportunity is that consumers who are familiar with Malbec from Argentina will recognise the quality and use that knowledge as a springboard to explore other great varieties and blends being introduced into the worldwide market.

Zuccardi concludes: “The future of our wines is not in variety but in the place. The future of Argentina is not talking only of Malbec – we start talking about regions, searching through them for identity, particularities.

“Fifteen years ago Argentina was enough to mention. Today we are beginning to talk about microregions, which is a big step in a short time.”